$9 billion startup Stripe is automating the complicated process of starting a company

When Stripe Atlas launched a year ago, it wanted to level the playing field for entrepreneurs in emerging markets so that they could have access to the same tools as people in Silicon Valley.

Now the $9 billion payments company has realized that Atlas is something entrepreneurs throughout the United States want too.

Atlas automates the complicated process of starting a company into a filling out a short web form. Atlas then takes care of incorporating a company in Delaware, setting up a US bank account with a tax ID number, and creating a Stripe account so they can accept payments.

“We wanted to see if we could help entrepreneurs in emerging markets to be on the same playing field as Silicon Valley startups,” said Taylor Francis, the lead of the Atlas project, in an interview with Business Insider. “It’s been heartening to see that it’s working.”

The company has already helped incorporate thousands of businesses from 124 countries. And on Thursday, Stripe is officially opening Atlas to US entrepreneurs, a group that had been clamoring to use it too, says Francis.