Head of AMER Startups (AI Sales)

Job description

Who we are About Stripe Stripe is a financial infrastructure platform for businesses. Millions of companies, from the world's largest enterprises to the most ambitious startups, use Stripe to start their business, accept payments, grow their revenue, and accelerate new business opportunities. Our mission is to increase the GDP of the internet, and we have a staggering amount of work ahead. That means you have an unprecedented opportunity to put the global economy within everyone's reach while doing the most important work of your career. About the team The AMER Startups team is responsible for Stripe's fastest-growing and highest-potential customer segment. Within this organization, the AI Sales team focuses specifically on the breakthrough ecosystem of AI - spanning foundation model builders, AI infrastructure platforms, agentic workflows, and AI-native SaaS applications. AI startups represent an unprecedented paradigm shift: they achieve hyper-growth at velocities previously unseen in software, operate complex token- or consumption-based monetization models, and face unique infrastructure and scaling demands from day one. You will tackle the challenge of building dedicated coverage, specialized technical go-to-market motions, and intelligent automation systems to support thousands of AI companies as they scale from seed stage to market dominance. What you’ll do As Head of AMER Startups (AI Sales), you will lead the dedicated organization responsible for acquiring, expanding, and partnering with high-growth AI startups across North America. This role acts as both an expansion engine and a strategic acquisition vector for the most transformational segment in tech. You will be a second-line leader managing frontline managers across specialized Account Executives who grow distinct AI stages (e.g., early-stage AI labs, scaling AI infra, and enterprise-grade AI native apps). You will partner cross-functionally with product managers, solutions architects, risk specialists, and AI ecosystem venture partners to build GTM motions around usage billing, multi-product platform adoption, and AI-native monetization patterns. This role reports to the Head of AMER Startups. Responsibilities • Vision & Strategy: Develop the overarching GTM vision, sub-team structure, and operating model for Stripe’s AI Startup organization across North America. • Specialized AI Coverage: Design coverage models optimized for non-linear, hyper-growth trajectories—balancing high-touch high-velocity sales engineering for breakout AI labs with signal-driven, automated coverage for emerging AI developers. • Monetization & Product Attach: Drive adoption of core Stripe financial infrastructure—including Metered/Usage-Based Billing, Connect, Financial Connections, and Global Payouts—tailored specifically to consumption and token-based pricing models. • Breakout Detection Systems: Create data-driven systems and signals to identify early breakout AI companies (e.g., sudden compute expansion, API usage spikes) and rapidly deploy specialized resources to capture and retain market share. • Ecosystem Leadership: Partner closely with leading AI venture funds, incubators, AI compute providers, and cloud marketplaces to position Stripe as the default financial stack for AI startups. • Team Building & Management: Recruit, hire, and develop top-tier frontline managers and Account Executives, defining specialized AI sales profiles and fostering an environment of deep domain expertise. • Product Feedback Loop: Serve as the strategic voice of AI founders to Stripe’s Product and Engineering teams, shaping roadmap priorities for billing engine scalability, usage metering, and AI agent payment capabilities. • Forecasting & Operations: Own pipeline health and revenue forecasting for a volatile, hyper-growth segment using specialized leading metrics (usage volumes, API calls, compute commit signals). Who you are Minimum requirements • 10+ years of experience leading high-growth technology sales or GTM organizations, with