Buy now, pay later service Klarna raises $639 million at a $45.6B valuation

Stockholm-based buy now, pay later company Klarna announced today that it has raised $639 million at a $45.6 billion valuation. 

The funding round led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 ,with additional participation from existing investors Adit Ventures, Honeycomb Asset Management and WestCap Group. 

Klarna had nearly tripled its valuation to $ 31 billion in less than six months and became the most valuable private fintech in Europe after announcing a new $ 1 billion funding round back in March. 

“I’m very proud of the investors who are supporting Klarna’s ambition to challenge these outdated models to empower consumers with fair, transparent, and convenient products to help them bank, shop and pay each day.” said Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Klarna Founder and CEO, in a statement. 

Klarna said in March that it will pledge 1% of the amount from the investment to GiveOne, a newly created venture that focuses on key sustainability challenges in the world. In the announcement of the new funding round, the company said that 1% of this equity raised will be directed to initiatives supporting planet health.

Klarna, which was founded in 2015, has 90 million active consumers, 250 thousand member merchants in payments service, and 2 million transactions per day. 

Yanni Pipilis, managing partner for SoftBank Investment Advisers said, “Klarna’s growth is founded on a deep understanding of how the purchasing behaviors of consumers are changing, an evolution which we believe is accelerating. Klarna has already successfully expanded into the US and we are excited to continue supporting the team in bringing the next generation of financial services to new markets worldwide.” 

Klarna had said in May that it was considering a listing in London in the next year or two, but was still deciding where to list it.