Klarna’s Ipo Pops, Raising $1.4b, With Sequoia As The Biggest Winner

2 months ago

Klarna laminitis Sebastian Siemiatkowski

12:11 PM PDT · September 10, 2025

It’s been a agelong roadworthy for nan 20-year-old fintech Klarna to make it to an IPO. But connected Wednesday, nan institution successfully landed connected nan New York Stock Exchange, having raised $1.4 billion, mostly for its existing investors, alternatively than itself.

The fintech elephantine sold shares astatine $40, supra its announced scope of $35 to $37, and came retired of nan gross pinch a $15 cardinal valuation. Shares popped, opening astatine $52, though quickly settling down to astir $46 mid-day.

Of nan 34.3 cardinal shares Klarna sold, only 5 cardinal were sold by nan company, it said. The remainder were sold by existing investors for illustration nan company’s largest shareholder Sequoia Capital. Entities controlled by Dutch billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen, Silver Lake, BlackRock, and galore others sold arsenic well. Despite cashing retired immoderate shares, each of them are holding onto nan mostly of their stakes.

Figma’s IPO did a akin thing. Yet, often these existing investors don’t want to waste astatine nan IPO price, a VC told TechCrunch. They footwear successful shares to thief nan institution meet IPO demand. Floating much shares helps nan institution get a much accurate, and possibly higher, valuation retired of nan gross because it helps nan IPO pull nan biggest organization investors who wouldn’t fuss pinch an IPO for a mini allocation.

In Klarna’s lawsuit co-founder CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski did not waste immoderate shares. His liking was worthy $1.02 cardinal astatine nan IPO trading value of $40 and he controls astir 7.5% of nan company.

Victor Jacobsson, the co-founder who near nan institution successful 2012, did waste but was, and still is, a somewhat larger shareholder. He cashed retired of 1.1 cardinal shares and still retains complete 8% of nan company.

Co-founder Niklas Adalberth still owns conscionable nether 3 cardinal shares, Klarna disclosed.

Sequoia is by acold nan biggest investor successful Klarna, controlling astir 23% of nan company. Famed VC Michael Moritz wrote Klarna’s first cheque connected Sequoia’s behalf successful 2010, and stayed connected arsenic Klarna’s chairperson moreover aft he near Sequoia successful 2023. Some play ensued erstwhile Sequoia added different member to Klarna’s board. But it yet sorted itself retired erstwhile Sequoia’s Andrew Reed joined its committee successful 2024.

“This infinitesimal feels surreal,” Siemiatkowski shared successful published remarks. “When we started Klarna backmost successful 2005, it was conscionable a chaotic thought — me, Niklas, and Victor, fumbling around, trying to make shopping and payments smoother for people. We sewage rejected near and right, laughed astatine much times than I tin count. But we kept going.”

He continued, “Going nationalist successful New York is huge. It’s not conscionable a milestone; it’s a statement. It’s impervious that a bunch of stubborn dreamers from Stockholm tin return connected nan world — and win.”

Interestingly, though, $1.4 cardinal is not nan grounds for nan biggest IPO of 2025. That’s still held by CoreWeave, which raised $1.5 cardinal successful June.