The way I understand it is that if they wouldn't have this round, lots of very valuable, tenured employees would be f-ed over, which could cause them to leave on very bad terms and a PR nightmare that could make attracting workers hard.
There’s an appreciable difference between a company selling newly issues shares to fund their corporate expenses, and arranging a liquidity event for your employees. That’s what they are explaining in that paragraph.
Obviously it can be very much in their interest to do this, while it is still also true that “Stripe does not need this capital to run its business.”
The way I understand it is that if they wouldn't have this round, lots of very valuable, tenured employees would be f-ed over, which could cause them to leave on very bad terms and a PR nightmare that could make attracting workers hard.