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Alex Atallah

Alex Atallah is the co-founder of OpenSea, the NFT marketplace he led as CTO until 2022. Today he is co-founder and CEO of OpenRouter, a platform for unified access to artificial intelligence models, which Stripe agreed to acquire in August 2026.

Riccardo CuratoloBy Riccardo Curatolo 2 min read How we work
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Who he is

Alex Atallah is a US entrepreneur and engineer with a computer science degree from Stanford. In 2018 he co-founded OpenSea with Devin Finzer, the first major NFT marketplace, serving as CTO through the sector's boom years. Before OpenSea he had worked as an engineer at Palantir Technologies and, as an intern, at Apple, and had founded smaller startups such as Dormlink. In July 2022 he left his operational role at OpenSea to "build from scratch again", remaining on the board. The result is OpenRouter, founded in 2023: an aggregator giving access through a single API to hundreds of artificial intelligence models from dozens of providers. He is one of the few founders to have built leading companies in two different technology waves, NFTs and AI.

Current role

Co-founder and CEO of OpenRouter (Verified: September 2026). Atallah left the role of OpenSea CTO in July 2022. OpenRouter has raised 40 million dollars (round led by Andreessen Horowitz and Menlo Ventures, with Sequoia) and closed a Series B in May 2026 at a valuation of around 1.3 billion dollars. In August 2026 Stripe announced it had agreed to acquire OpenRouter for more than 7 billion dollars (over 8 according to some outlets, in cash and shares); the company stated it will continue to operate under the same name and product. (Verified: September 2026)

Career path

  • 2010-2014 — Computer science studies at Stanford; stints at Apple (2011) and Palantir Technologies (2012-2014).
  • 2018-2022 — Co-founds OpenSea with Devin Finzer and serves as its CTO during the NFT market boom; leaves the operational role in July 2022 while remaining on the board.
  • 2023-today — Founds and leads OpenRouter, a unified gateway for AI models (400+ models from over 80 providers), up to the acquisition agreement with Stripe in August 2026.

Recent developments and controversies

  • Stripe acquisition (Verified: September 2026): in August 2026 Stripe announced the agreement to acquire OpenRouter for more than 7 billion dollars, one of the largest exits in AI infrastructure; closing remains subject to customary conditions.
  • There are no legal or regulatory controversies against Atallah. The class actions and proceedings involving OpenSea (such as the 2022 insider trading case of a former employee) did not involve him personally.

FAQ

What does Alex Atallah do today? He is co-founder and CEO of OpenRouter, a platform offering unified access to hundreds of AI models. In August 2026 Stripe agreed to acquire the company for more than 7 billion dollars. (Verified: September 2026)

Does Alex Atallah still work at OpenSea? Not operationally: he left the CTO role in July 2022 to found a new company, while remaining tied to OpenSea as co-founder and board member.

See also

Verified sources

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