What is Klarna?
Global digital bank and flexible payments network for consumers and merchants.
- Category
- Digital banking and buy now, pay later
- Headquarters
- Stockholm, Sweden
- Founded
- 2005
- Employees
- 3,800+ reported
- Total funding
- $4.2B+ reported before IPO
- Status
- Public company; IPO 2025
What is Klarna?
Klarna is a global digital bank and flexible payments provider best known for buy now, pay later checkout products. In 2025 it reported $3.5 billion of revenue, $127.9 billion of GMV, 118 million active consumers, and 966,000 merchants.
Klarna connects shoppers, merchants, card networks, lenders, and banking products through checkout financing and app-based commerce. Its consumer products include Pay in 4, Pay later, longer-term financing, one-time cards, shopping tools, and banking-style account experiences in selected markets.
The company entered the public markets in 2025 after a volatile private-market path. Its Q1 2026 results showed $33.7 billion of GMV, $1.0 billion of revenue, 119 million active consumers, and adjusted operating profit of $68 million.
For sellers, Klarna behaves like both a regulated fintech and a large consumer marketplace. Buying committees often involve payments, risk, compliance, data, growth, merchant success, security, and country-market leaders.
What does Klarna offer?
Klarna offers Pay in 4, Pay later, financing, one-time cards, a shopping app, merchant checkout, marketing services, and banking-oriented consumer products.
- Pay in 4· Consumer credit
- Pay later / invoice· Consumer credit
- Longer-term financing· Consumer credit
- One-time card· Card product
- Merchant checkout· Merchant platform
- Klarna app· Shopping
- Ads and merchant marketing· Commerce media
How does Klarna make money?
Klarna makes money from merchant fees, consumer financing/service fees where applicable, interchange, advertising/merchant marketing, and banking products.
Klarna’s consumer Pay in 4 product is marketed as interest-free when paid on time, while its one-time card and financing products can include service fees or interest depending on product and market. Merchants pay for payment acceptance, conversion lift, and financing/risk services; public third-party fee summaries often cite percentage-plus-fixed fees, but enterprise rates are negotiated.
Growth is driven by GMV, merchant count, active consumers, repeat usage, underwriting quality, and expansion from checkout into banking and commerce media. Public results show transaction margin dollars and credit-loss provisions, which are better indicators than simple revenue multiples for a lender-like fintech.
This profile does not invent private merchant contract terms. Where Klarna publishes consumer terms or investor metrics, those are used; where enterprise pricing is custom, the profile says so.
Who leads Klarna?
Klarna is led by co-founder and CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski, with finance, product, design, marketing, risk, and market leaders around the payments and banking platform.
- Sebastian SiemiatkowskiCo-founder and CEOCo-founder since 2005Leads Klarna’s shift from BNPL checkout to AI-enabled digital banking.
- Niklas AdalberthCo-founderCo-founderListed by Sequoia as part of the founding team.
- Victor JacobssonCo-founderCo-founderListed by Sequoia as part of the founding team.
- Niclas NeglénChief Financial OfficerExecutive teamOwns public-company finance and investor reporting.
- David SandströmChief Marketing OfficerExecutive teamLeads brand, consumer growth, and merchant-facing marketing.
How do you contact Klarna's leadership?
Klarna does not publish verified personal executive emails in the sources used here. Use press, investor relations, merchant sales, support, and partner contact routes rather than guessed personal emails.
Public aliases/contact forms; personal executive email format not verifiedSources:Klarna pressKlarna official site
How much funding has Klarna raised?
Klarna raised more than $4 billion before going public, with a peak $45.6 billion private valuation in 2021, a $6.7 billion down round in 2022, and a 2025 IPO at a materially lower public-market reset.
Klarna’s early capital included Sequoia’s 2010 partnership, followed by many growth rounds as the company expanded across Europe, the U.S., and banking products. Key late-stage financings included a 2019 round of about $460 million at a reported $5.5 billion valuation and a 2020 Silver Lake-led round of about $650 million at a reported $10.65 billion valuation.
In 2021, SoftBank Vision Fund 2 led a reported $639 million round at a $45.6 billion valuation. In July 2022, Klarna raised about $800 million at a $6.7 billion valuation, a major down round that reflected higher rates, fintech multiple compression, and credit-risk concerns.
Klarna’s 2025 IPO reset the capital story from private growth to public execution. Sequoia lists Klarna as founded 2005, partnered 2010, and IPO 2025; current seller diligence should look to revenue, GMV, loss provisions, profitability, and market expansion rather than the 2021 peak mark.
How did Klarna get here?
Klarna moved through a series of financing, product, and scale milestones.
- 2005FoundedSebastian Siemiatkowski, Niklas Adalberth, and Victor Jacobsson found Klarna in Stockholm.
- 2010Sequoia partnershipSequoia becomes an early institutional backer as Klarna expands checkout financing.
- 2021Peak private valuationKlarna raises a SoftBank-led round at a reported $45.6B valuation.
- 2022Down roundKlarna raises about $800M at a reported $6.7B valuation amid fintech market compression.
- 2025IPOKlarna enters the public markets after years as one of Europe’s highest-profile fintech companies.
- 2026Public-company reportingKlarna reports quarterly GMV, revenue, consumer, and merchant metrics as a public company.
Who are Klarna's competitors?
Klarna competes with BNPL networks, wallets, payment processors, card issuers, and commerce enablement platforms.
- AffirmU.S.-focused BNPL lender with explicit APR and merchant financing products.
- AfterpayBlock-owned BNPL network with strong merchant and Cash App adjacency.
- PayPalLarge wallet and checkout network with Pay Later attached to a broad merchant base.
- ZipBNPL provider with installment checkout and consumer app focus.
- AdyenEnterprise payments platform competing for merchant checkout ownership rather than consumer BNPL brand.
Klarna — frequently asked questions
