Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO and co-founder of Clarna Holding AB of AB, Klarna Bank AB, on the centre right on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, at the company’s initial public offering (NYSE) held at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, New York.
Michael Nuggle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Klarna’s shares rose 15% on its New York Stock Exchange debut on Wednesday, closing at $45.82 after Swedish Fintech surpassed its IPO in the expected range.
Klarna, known for her popular purchases, will pay later products, pay stock priced at $40 on Tuesday, raising $1.37 billion for the company and existing shareholders.
The IPO is the latest in the high-tech list of high-profile high-technology growth this year, suggesting an increase in demand from Wall Street for new products. Companies like Stablecoin Issuer Round Design Software Platform Figma They rose sharply with each debut. Meanwhile, the Crypto Exchange Gemini is scheduled to be released later this week.
“For me, it’s a real milestone,” Klarna co-founder and CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski told CNBC in an interview Wednesday. “It’s like a wedding. You prepare a lot, you plan it, and it’s a big party. But in the end – the marriage continues.”
Stock opened at $52 and fell as the day progressed. In conclusion, the company was valued at around $17.3 billion.
Klarna’s entry into the open market tests excitement about Wall Street’s business direction. The company has deployed US debit cards and personal deposit accounts in recent months and spoke about its transition to banking.
Klarna has signed 700,000 card customers in the US so far, and five million people on the 5 million waiting list for access to the product, Siemiatkowski told CNBC. He added that the Klarna Card represents a different proposal for offering the Fintech Affirm card, which has attracted 2 million users since its launch in 2021.
“We’re attracting viewers that are probably a little different from the assertion card,” Siemiatkovsky said. “I get the impression that it’s a card that people use to fund a slightly more expensive ticket.”
In addition to the assertion, Klarna is also competing with Afterpay. It was acquired by Square in 2021 for $29 billion. block.
Klarna faces several potential regulatory headwinds. In the UK, the government is proposing new rules to put BNPL loans under formal surveillance to address affordable prices concerns about the market.
The Swedish Fintech Klarna banner is hung on the front of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on September 10, 2025, to celebrate the company’s IPO in New York City, USA.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
The IPO is poised to generate billions of dollars for the benefit of some of Klarna’s longtime investors. Existing shareholders provide the majority of Klarna shares to 208.8 million in the public market. The IPO priced at $40, which is roughly equivalent to $1.2 billion. Meanwhile, Klarna raised $222 million from the IPO.
Sequoia, which first supported Klarna in 2010, invested a total of $500 million. Venture Firm sold 2 million shares of its 79 million shares through its IPO. That is, based on the offer price, an overall return of approximately $2.65 billion was generated.
Sequoia partner Andrew Reed told CNBC that he was still in college when the company first invested in a “Stockholm alternative payment company.” He said early work was expanding in Europe.
“Fifteen years later, I was in New York with over 100 million consumers, over $100 billion in GMV (total merchandise value) and nearly a million merchants, so I am amazed at how we can have another execution, growth and Sebastian’s long-term vision,” Reid said.
Another Klarna investor was not so lucky. Japan Softbank Klarna led the 2021 funding round at a $46 billion valuation, and the stock’s value has since plummeted significantly.
Watch: CNBC interview with Klarna CEO Sebastian Siematkowski
