Klarna (KLAR.US) will be listed on the US stock market tonight. It is reported that the venture capital giant Sequoia Capital has made a profit of $2.7 billion.

In focusing on the "buy now, pay later" model, Klarna Group Plc has decided to price its stock market listing on the US stock market at $40 per share, corresponding to an implied market capitalization of $15.1 billion. After the stock market debut, Klarna's appearance on the US stock market is expected to bring in billions of dollars in strong returns for its largest investor, Sequoia Capital. According to media reports, an unnamed source familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity due to the information not being public, said that this long-standing Silicon Valley venture capital firm has invested approximately $500 million in the company. At the time of Klarna's stock pricing on Tuesday, Sequoia's stake was valued at approximately $3.2 billion, which means Sequoia could potentially see returns of more than six times their original investment, resulting in profits of around $2.7 billion after deducting the initial investment. As the stock begins trading on Wednesday and the stock price may fluctuate significantly, this number will change. Sequoia declined to comment on its holdings. Klarna's listing on the stock market after 20 years since its founding will bring a welcome respite to its earliest supporters. The company's path to the public market has been tumultuous: after a surge in valuation during the COVID-19 pandemic, a subsequent downturn in tech valuations caused by the Federal Reserve's aggressive interest rate hikes led to a significant drop in the company's valuation. Klarna completed one of the most aggressive "down rounds" (financing at a lower valuation) in the global tech industry. Last year, dramatic boardroom unrest at Klarna sparked rare public conflicts within Sequoia's leadership. At its peak, the company's valuation reached $45.6 billion after a $639 million investment led by Japan's SoftBank Group in 2021. By 2022, amidst the fluctuation in valuations for fintech companies, its valuation plummeted to around $6.7 billion in a subsequent financing round. On Tuesday, investors in the US stock market continued to show enthusiasm for IPOs, driving the company's stock price higher than the marketing range. Klarna is considered a major IPO following leaders in AI cloud computing, CoreWeave, "the first stablecoin stock," Circle, and cryptocurrency newcomer Bullish this year. The global IPO market has shown a significant rebound, especially in the US stock market, which is expected to continue its hot streak in the near future and likely to see the busiest week for US stock market listings this year. Klarna is best known for offering "buy now, pay later" financing options, covering short-term and long-term consumer shopping loans. The company has also set its sights on becoming a global digital bank, offering consumers digital debit cards and other digital products. One of its competitors, Affirm Holdings Inc., has seen its stock price rise by over 40% this year. Last year, Klarna experienced an unusual boardroom upheaval involving some members of Sequoia's leadership. Silicon Valley heavyweight Michael Moritz led Sequoia's early investment in Klarna in 2010 and continued to serve on Klarna's board even after stepping back from daily work at the company in 2023. He has publicly supported Klarna, even calling the company "terrific" during its low valuation period. Matthew Miller, a Sequoia Europe partner and then a Klarna board member, sought to remove Moritz at the beginning of 2024 but ultimately failed - instead, he himself left the venture capital firm, and Andrew Read took his place on Klarna's board. Who is Klarna Group? Klarna Group plc (referred to as "Klarna") is a financial technology company headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, specializing in "buy now, pay later" (BNPL) services, offering online and offline payment, installment, and checkout solutions to consumers and merchants; founded by three partners including Sebastian Siemiatkowski in 2005, it operates in multiple countries globally and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (code: KLAR). Its main business can be described as "two-sided": consumers + merchants. For consumers, Klarna provides a variety of BNPL/installment and payment methods (such as "Pay in 4" with four interest-free installments, "Pay in 30 days" buy now, pay later, and longer-term installments), and integrates features such as price comparison, cashback, order tracking, and virtual/physical cards within its app, positioning itself as an integrated "shopping and payment" application. For merchants/businesses, Klarna offers a comprehensive set of solutions including checkout/payment collection, risk management, and marketing traffic for e-commerce and offline stores, aiming to increase conversion rates and average spending. Klarna serves tens of thousands of merchants, with a global user base exceeding a billion (AP reports approximately 1.11 billion), and is a key player in the BNPL race; priced at $40 per share in the US stock IPO market in September 2025, corresponding to an estimated $15.1 billion valuation.