The Swedish firm known for offering payment plans to cash-strapped internet shoppers is in the midst of a big change. Specifically, as of September 10, 2025, the newly public company’s shares are on NYSE as KLAR, at a value of $40. There’s no movement yet, although the market is open, but there will definitely be lots of eyes on the volatility of KLAR’s movements as the days go by.
With Klarna currently valued around $15 billion, the IPO reportedly raised around $1.3 billion with just over 34 million shares offered.
Although Klarna’s press release on the IPO did not come with a direct quote from leadership, coverage like this piece from Daniella Genovese at Fox Business shows some remarks by Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski prior to the move about how he sees the firm’s positioning in fintech.
Siemiatkowski Speaks
“I think that there is this demand and people want something else from their bank,” he said. “Most people are not that super excited about what banks have been doing for them in the last few decades … There’s been competitive banks, but there haven’t been banks that are willing to do things differently, in my opinion. The key is that we see that there are a lot of Americans out there who are very tired of credit cards – of how they feel that they get fooled into lots of debt with lots of interest.”
Klarna offers an alternative: its Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) service lets shoppers split purchases into multiple interest-free installments, or delay full payment so that they can rustle up the funds.
That’s good news for the many wage workers who have seen their purchasing power shrink as prices get higher, and companies get stingier with pay. Will ‘buy now, pay later’ help to add elasticity to a market where the rank and file can hardly afford what they want or need to buy?
Talk to the CEO
Right now, as we await the first flailings of Klarna’s new stock prices, you can also call Siemiatkowski directly and tell him what’s on your mind.
The new “CEO AI hotline” adopts the novel approach of connecting callers with an “AI avatar” of the CEO that will listen to what they have to say and pass it on to humans.
To be clear, Siemiatkowski’s digital twin is not interested in broader discussion. I called, and he said he is mostly just looking for feedback about the Klarna user experience. But this more robust communications channel is quite welcome after decades of sterile chatbots and IVR that fail to offer a realistic experience to those trying to reach the top brass of any company anywhere.
So give it a try: get the telephone number off of Klarna’s web site, and call the CEO avatar, and tell him what you think about his IPO. It’s a brave new world.
Some analysts are ebullient.
“In recent months, Figma Inc. and Circle Internet Group Inc. both saw their stocks pop in their trading debuts,” writes Emily Bary at Marketwatch. “(It’s) a sign of strong appetite for IPOs, and also a sign that underwriters left money on the table. Klarna will also follow in the footsteps of fellow fintech player Affirm Holdings Inc. which went public in early 2021. Affirm’s stock has been volatile since its IPO and is trading nearly 50% off its pandemic-era peak of $168.52. But Affirm shares have seen momentum recently as the company’s profit profile has improved and as new products have resonated. Affirm has a $29 billion market capitalization.”
One wonders what the chatbot will say to actual Klarna users, and what they will be bringing to the CEO’s attention, including, perhaps, news that they aren’t able to make payments, or criticisms of unwieldy features. After speaking with the avatar myself, it seems evident to me that this is going to be another example of what’s called “parasocial interaction,” where what seems like two-way communication is really just one-way communication dressed up as dialogue.
Anyway, keep an eye on how this is working. At least Klarna is offering a listening ear, even though it’s not direct by any means. Stay tuned.
