After two decades, Klarna, the Swedish fintech, finally reached the milestone of going public. On Wednesday, its shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange, raising $1.4 billion—most of which went to existing investors rather than the company itself.
Klarna's stock was priced at $40 per share, exceeding the anticipated $35 to $37 range, and the company debuted with a valuation of $15 billion. The stock price surged at the start, opening at $52, before stabilizing around $46 by midday.
Of the 34.3 million shares offered, Klarna itself sold only 5 million, with the remainder coming from existing shareholders such as Sequoia Capital, the largest stakeholder. Other sellers included groups associated with Dutch billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen, as well as Silver Lake, BlackRock, and several others. Even after selling a portion of their holdings, these major investors retained the majority of their shares.
Figma took a similar approach with its IPO. However, according to a venture capitalist speaking with TechCrunch, existing shareholders typically are reluctant to sell at the IPO price. They may contribute shares to help the company fulfill demand for the IPO, and by increasing the available shares, the company can achieve a more accurate—and possibly higher—initial valuation. This also attracts larger institutional investors who might otherwise ignore a smaller offering.
In Klarna’s situation, CEO and co-founder Sebastian Siemiatkowski held onto all his stock. At the IPO price of $40 per share, his 7.5% ownership stake was valued at $1.02 billion.
Victor Jacobsson, who co-founded Klarna but left in 2012, did sell some of his shares, remaining a slightly bigger shareholder. After selling 1.1 million shares, he still owns over 8% of Klarna.
Niklas Adalberth, another co-founder, maintains just under 3 million shares, according to Klarna’s disclosures.
Sequoia Capital is Klarna’s most significant backer with nearly 23% ownership. Michael Moritz, a renowned venture capitalist, wrote Klarna’s initial check for Sequoia in 2010 and continued as the company’s chairman even after leaving Sequoia in 2023. There was some internal conflict when Sequoia appointed another board member, but it was resolved in 2024 with Andrew Reed joining Klarna’s board.
“This feels almost unreal,” Siemiatkowski reflected publicly. “Back in 2005, when Klarna started, it was just an ambitious idea—me, Niklas, and Victor, experimenting and hoping to simplify shopping and payments. We faced countless rejections and ridicule, but we persevered.”
He added, “Listing in New York is a massive achievement. It’s more than a milestone; it’s a declaration. It shows that determined dreamers from Stockholm can compete globally—and succeed.”
However, Klarna’s $1.4 billion IPO wasn’t the largest in 2025. That title remains with CoreWeave, which secured $1.5 billion in June.
