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☆ Klarna says its AI assistant is doing the work of 700 people after putting the brakes on hiring
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Klarna says its AI assistant is doing the equivalent work of 700 people. Not everyone's impressed, but the assistant is another sign of the company's enthusiasm for AI. AdvertisementKlarna says its AI assistant is doing "the equivalent work of 700 full-time agents." One user, Gergely Orosz, a software engineer and author of The Pragmatic Engineer newsletter, said he was skeptical of the news after trying out Klarna's AI assistant. Advertisement"There will be a shrinking of the company," Siemiatkowski said in December.

Persons: Klarna, Swedish fintech, everyone's, —, Gergely, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Siemiatkowski, We're Organizations: Service, Business, Telegraph Locations: Swedish

☆ Klarna to debut $7.99 monthly plan as buy now, pay later firm seeks new revenue sources ahead of IPO
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Hugh Son | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Swedish fintech firm Klarna is launching a monthly subscription plan in the U.S. to lock in its heaviest users ahead of an expected initial public offering this year, the company told CNBC. Buy now, pay later services such as Klarna and Affirm have surged in popularity in recent years as more Americans rely on a new, fintech-enabled form of credit. When Klarna users shop outside the firm's network of 500,000 retailers — at places such as Walmart, Target, Amazon and Costco — they pay $1 to $2 in transaction fees. "The main proposition of Klarna Plus right now is that you don't pay any service fees," Sandstrom said. "So if you love Klarna and if you love shopping at Target and Walmart, it makes a ton of sense financially."

Persons: David Sandstrom, Sandstrom Organizations: Swedish, CNBC, Nike, Instacart, Walmart, Target, Costco Locations: U.S, Stockholm

☆ Klarna is freezing hiring and turning to AI tools such as ChatGPT to pick up the slack
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski says the company is in a partial hiring freeze. He told The Telegraph AI was "a threat to a lot of jobs" across the economy. As more AI productivity tools hit the market, some workers are concerned that widespread adoption of the tech could put their jobs at risk. AdvertisementSome CEOs have already bet that AI tools will boost worker productivity and lead to reduced headcount. Other companies including AT&T have even created their own AI tools to help employees with their work.

Persons: Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Siemiatkowski, —, We're, Klarna Organizations: Telegraph, Service, T's Locations: Swedish

☆ Profitable Klarna poses IPO valuation conundrum
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Karen Kwok | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Last year, Siemiatkowski raised money at a $6.7 billion equity value, or 85% below its 2021 price tag of $45.6 billion. The implied Klarna valuation, before netting out the company’s cash or debt, would be roughly $14 billion. It’s hard to see Klarna getting close to those multiples, if it’s valued like a bank, since the Swedish company is nowhere near as profitable. For Siemiatkowski, then, the key to gaining an IPO valuation uplift will be to convince investors that Klarna is a lender but not a bank. Klarna raised $800 million at a $6.7 billion valuation in July 2022.

Persons: Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Klarna, That’s, Breakingviews, Siemiatkowski, Liam Proud, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Bank, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Revenue, Thomson Locations: U.S, Swedish, United Kingdom

☆ Stripe’s $50 bln reset is relative sign of health
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 16 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Stripe’s valuation cut is arguably still a relative sign of strength. The newly attained price tag is a 53% cut from its 2021 valuation of $95 billion. And by some metrics Stripe seems to be valued at a discount relative to its publicly listed peers. Stripe’s $50 billion is 3.5 times last year’s gross revenue, while Dutch payment firm Adyen (ADYEN.AS) trades on a multiple of 4.7 times. The valuation cut reflects the reality of how an economic slowdown affects fintech businesses like Stripe.

☆ HR startup Deel striving to be more than a well-funded flash in the pan as it confirms $12 billion valuation and touts five-fold jump in annual revenue
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

HR startup Deel, which lets employers hire remotely, has raised capital at a $12 billion valuation. The funding round more than doubles the company's previous $5.5 billion valuation. The founder of HR startup Deel has insisted the company is more than just a "well-funded flash in the pan" as he confirmed a long-mooted funding round that more than doubled its valuation to $12 billion. Deel also automates payroll, benefits, compliance, and other HR functions through an API to help companies scale remote teams. The company previously raised $425 million at a $5.5 billion valuation in a round led by Coatue in October 2021.

☆ The fintech reckoning is upon us. Here’s what to expect next year
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Hugh Son | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Many fintech companies — particularly those dealing directly with retail borrowers — will be forced to shut down or sell themselves next year as startups run out of funding, according to investors, founders and investment bankers. Other private companies with a reasonable path to profitability will typically get funding from existing investors. The frenzy peaked in 2021, when fintech companies raised more than $130 billion and minted more than 100 new unicorns, or companies with at least $1 billion in valuation. "20% of all VC dollars went into fintech in 2021," said Stuart Sopp, founder and CEO of digital bank Current. "The competitive landscape shifts the most during periods of fear, uncertainty and doubt," said Kelly Rodriques, CEO of Forge, a trading venue for private company stock.

☆ CEO of $4.5 billion tech firm slams his peers over layoffs: 'These are humans'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

HELSINKI, Finland — The boss of European digital insurance startup Wefox offered a damning response to tech companies that have laid off workers en masse. Swedish fintech firm Klarna was among the first major employers in tech to slash jobs this year, cutting 10% of its workforce in May. Several companies have followed suit, from those in Big Tech to venture-backed startups like Stripe. Julian Teicke, CEO of Wefox, told CNBC he is "disgusted" by what he views as a disregard by some of his peers for their employees. Venture capitalists have been advising startups in their portfolios to cut costs and freeze hiring as economists warn of an impending recession.

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