Klarna announces funding of $639 million led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2

By Megha Bhattacharya

Klarna announced a new equity funding of $639 million led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2, with additional participation from existing investors Adit Ventures, Honeycomb Asset Management and WestCap Group. Klarna’s other investors include Sequoia Capital, SilverLake, Dragoneer, Permira, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Bestseller Group, Ant Group, Northzone, GIC – Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund – as well as funds and accounts managed by BlackRock and HMI.

The funding round brings the post-money valuation of Klarna to $45.6 billion and is expected to support international expansion and further capture global retail growth.

Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Klarna Founder and CEO said, “Consumers continue to reject interest-and fee-laden revolving credit and are moving toward debit while simultaneously seeking retail experiences that better meet their needs. Klarna’s more transparent and convenient alternatives align with evolving global consumer preferences and drive worldwide growth. I’m very proud of the investors who are supporting Klarna’s ambition to challenge these outdated models to empower consumers with fair, transparent, and convenient products to help them bank, shop and pay each day.”

Recently, Klarna officially launched in France today by introducing “Pay in 3”. With the launch of “Pay in 3” (“Paiement en 3 fois”) French shoppers will be able to securely purchase their products from their online stores and spread the cost of their purchase over three interest-free payments, charged every 30 days. It also introduced the Klarna app which offers consumers convenience, inspiration and value throughout the whole shopping journey. In the app, consumers will be able to see pictures of purchased items, keep track of and manage their payments, save favorite items to wish lists, receive price drop notifications on saved items as well as track their carbon emissions.