Inside Klarna: From 2005 to Now Into a $3.7 billion business
Startup Type:
Headquarter: Stockholm, Sweden
Current Status: Active (private; was Europe’s most valuable startup, now scaled back but still leader in BNPL)
Founders: Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Niklas Adalberth, Victor Jacobsson
Founded Year: 2005
Investors: Sequoia Capital, Silver Lake, Dragoneer Investment
Funding Raised: $3.7 billion
What Is the business model of Klarna?
Fintech company offering buy-now-pay-later and online payment solutions, allowing shoppers to split purchases into installments or pay later, and charging merchants a fee per transaction
How Klarna got started?
Zhao and Last founded Notion in 2016 aiming to create an operating system for work, after an initial failure and reboot. They rebuilt Notion as a highly customizable tool that gained traction in the tech and creative communities
what growth strategy has Klarna followed?
Partnered with tens of thousands of retailers to integrate its one-click checkout and installment options, using consumer-friendly marketing and an easy checkout experience to become a ubiquitous option on online stores worldwide
what are the top products/features of Klarna
Klarna Pay in 4 installments, Klarna app, Klarna Direct
what was the biggest challenge faced by Klarna?
Mounting credit losses and regulatory pressures on the BNPL model, especially after rapid global expansion and a market downturn forced a major valuation cut and layoffs in 2022