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 won 30% on its New York Stock Exchange debut on Wednesday, when Swedish online lenders opened for $52 after they surpassed the expected IPO range.
The company, known for its popular purchases, paid a later product, and raised $40 on Tuesday, raising $1.37 billion for the company and existing shareholders. The offer valued Klarna at around $15 billion.
The IPO is the latest list of growth lists for high-profile technology IPOs this year, suggesting an increase in demand from Wall Street for new products. Companies like Stablecoin Issuer Circle and Design Software Platform have skyrocketed with their respective debuts. 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.”
The stock had slipped to about $47 by noon, valuening the company at about $18 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 was acquired in 2021 for $29 billion and is now competing with Afterpay, the unit of blocks.
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 costs $40, which costs over $1.2 billion. Meanwhile, Klarna raised $222 million from the IPO.
Sequoia, first supported by 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 Sequoia made his first investment in “Stockholm alternative payments company.” He said early work was expanding in Europe.
“Fifteen years later, I was in New York with over 100 million consumers and over $100 billion GMV. [gross merchandise value] And it’s surprising that nearly a million merchants will be able to have another execution, growth and Sebastian’s long-term vision,” Reed said.
Another Klarna investor was not so lucky. Japan’s SoftBank led the 2021 funding round at Klarna at a $46 billion valuation, and the value of its stake has since plummeted significantly.
Watch: CNBC interview with Klarna CEO Sebastian Siematkowski
