FinTech giant Klarna has become the highest-valued private FinTech in Europe after an eyewatering $1bn funding round pushes its valuation to $31bn.
The four-times oversubscribed round was backed by a mixture of new and existing backers. Funds from the sizable round will be used to accelerate its international expansion and increase its market reach.
Additionally, the FinTech revealed it will pledge 1% of the capital raised to a new initiative focused on key sustainability challenges around the world. Klarna will launch the initiative on World Earth Day, which is April 22.
Not only is Klarna the highest valued FinTech in Europe, it is the third biggest in the world. Ant Financial is the biggest, with a whopping $150bn valuation and the second spot is help by Stripe, which has a $35bn valuation.
This is not the first time Klarna has been Europe’s most valued FinTech, with it previously holding the crown in 2020, shortly before payments solutions provider Checkout.com surpassed it. Klarna was valued at $10.6bn in September 2020, following a $650m investment from investors. However, in January 2021, Checkout.com reached a $15bn valuation after a $450m Series C.
Klarna co-founder and CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski said, “At Klarna, we solve problems – that is the heart of what we do for both consumers and retailers. Consumers want transparent products to help them bank, shop and pay that reflect the way they live their lives, not just outdated traditional models.
“Each and every one of us at Klarna will continue to work hard on this, but it is also time for us, with our culture of change, disruption and innovation, to focus on tackling bigger, more complex issues. I believe our industry has a responsibility to help in some way solve global sustainability issues and I hope others will join Klarna in our ambition.”
Klarna offers consumers a mobile app that enables them to shop, pay and bank.
Earlier in the year, the company launched consumer bank accounts in Germany. The service comes with a Visa debit card that can be connected to both Google Pay and Apple Pay.
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