Latest news with #KlarnaGroupPlc
Bloomberg
4 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Klarna Saved $2 Million After Cutting Ties With Salesforce
Klarna Group Plc Chief Executive Officer Sebastian Siemiatkowski said his company saved around $2 million after it severed ties with Salesforce Inc. in favor of data tools it built using artificial intelligence. Previously, data on Klarna's relationships with merchants was spread over multiple platforms owned by Salesforce as well as in emails, calendars, and cloud documents, Siemiatkowski said at the SXSW London conference. Now the fintech giant is in the process of consolidating the data in one place and will use AI to make better sense of it.
Mint
18-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Klarna's AI replaced 700 workers — Now the fintech CEO wants humans back after $40B fall
Klarna Group Plc's co-founder and CEO, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, has admitted the fintech giant's aggressive use of artificial intelligence in customer service has backfired. 'As cost unfortunately seems to have been a too predominant evaluation factor when organizing this, what you end up having is lower quality,' he said at Klarna's Stockholm headquarters. The company had halted hiring for over a year to focus on building AI capabilities, part of a broader cost-cutting effort. However, Siemiatkowski now says the shift needs recalibration. 'Really investing in the quality of the human support is the way of the future for us.' In a strategic pivot, Klarna is launching a fresh recruitment drive for customer support roles — a 'rare' move, according to a report in Bloomberg. The firm is piloting a new model where remote workers, such as students or people in rural areas, can log in and provide service on-demand, 'in an Uber type of setup.' Currently, two agents are part of the trial. 'We also know there are tons of Klarna users that are very passionate about our company and would enjoy working for us,' Siemiatkowski said. He emphasised that from both a 'brand perspective' and 'company perspective,' it is critical to 'always' give customers the option to speak to a human. While scaling back its all-in AI push for customer service, Klarna remains committed to integrating artificial intelligence across its operations. The firm is rebuilding its technology stack with AI at the core to drive efficiency, and is working on a digital financial assistant to help customers secure better interest rates and insurance deals, the news outlet reported. Siemiatkowski, 43, said Klarna's relationship with OpenAI remains strong. 'We wanted to be [OpenAI's] favorite guinea pig,' he recalled, referencing Klarna's early collaboration with the AI leader in 2023. Klarna's renewed hiring comes after a period of turbulence. The company's valuation plunged from a peak of $45.6 billion in 2021 to $6.7 billion during a 2022 funding round. It has since rebounded, with plans to raise $1 billion via IPO at a valuation of over $15 billion — though those plans were recently paused amid market volatility, according to the news report. The company's 2024 announcement that AI was handling the workload of 700 human agents shook the call center industry, sending shares of France-based Teleperformance SE down sharply. Despite the return to hiring, Klarna's headcount is still expected to shrink through attrition. 'In a year's time,' Siemiatkowski said, 'we'll probably be down to about 2,500 people from 3,000.' He added the pace of downsizing could increase as AI technology improves. 'I feel a bit like Elon Musk,' the Klarna CEO quipped, 'always wanting to say it's going to happen tomorrow, when it's going to take a little bit longer. I think it's very likely within 12 months.'
The Star
08-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Klarna rethinks AI cost-cutting plan with call for real people
Siemiatkowski, 43, is plotting a rare recruitment drive so the buy-now-pay-later company's customers will always have the option of speaking to a real person, in a sign the Swedish fintech's commitment to AI has its limits. — Photo by on Unsplash Klarna Group Plc's chief executive says his pursuit of cost-cutting, fueled by advancements in artificial intelligence, has gone too far. To that end, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, 43, is plotting a rare recruitment drive so the buy-now-pay-later company's customers will always have the option of speaking to a real person, in a sign the Swedish fintech's commitment to AI has its limits. Speaking at the company's headquarters in Stockholm, co-founder Siemiatkowski said the firm is piloting a new cohort of employees "in an Uber type of setup' where they can log in and work remotely, with a view to eventually replacing "the few thousand human agents' that Klarna currently outsources. The pilot has started small, with two of the new breed of customer-service agents live now, but the ambition is to tap into candidates such as students or rural populations. "We also know there are tons of Klarna users that are very passionate about our company and would enjoy working for us,' he added. "From a brand perspective, a company perspective,' Siemiatkowski said, "I just think it's so critical that you are clear to your customer that there will be always a human if you want.' Klarna, which was forced to pause plans for a US initial public offering last month, has been shedding costs since the end of the fintech boom. In a 2022 fundraising round, its valuation plunged as low as US$6.7bil (RM28.64bil), down from a peak of US$45.6bil (RM194.89bil) a year prior. More recently, the company has been seeking to raise at least US$1bil (RM4.27bil) in an IPO with a target valuation of more than US$15bil (RM64.11bil), Bloomberg News has reported. During the leaner times, Klarna outsourced more of its operations and turned its focus to AI. Klarna was one of the first firms to collaborate with OpenAI, with Siemiatkowski declaring in 2023 that he wanted his company to be the tech giant's "favorite guinea pig'. The fintech stopped hiring for over a year as it focused on building AI capabilities, and an announcement in 2024 about how AI was doing the work of 700 customer service agents sent shares in call centre provider Teleperformance SE spiralling. Siemiatkowski said that strategy isn't the right fit any more. "As cost unfortunately seems to have been a too predominant evaluation factor when organising this, what you end up having is lower quality,' he said. "Really investing in the quality of the human support is the way of the future for us.' Staffing impact To be sure, Klarna remains enthusiastic about AI. Siemiatkowski points to the rebuilding of the company's tech stack that will incorporate AI to improve efficiency. Klarna's fast credit options are used by 93 million customers around the world and more than 600,000 retail partners. A key goal for the company this year is to offer the first version of a digital financial assistant that Siemiatkowski hopes will eventually be able to negotiate on a customer's behalf, for example securing the best interest rates and insurance premiums. While the firm has returned to hiring, technological shifts are still going to impact staffing numbers in a broader sense, according to Siemiatkowski. In a year's time he expects the natural attrition rate of 20% to continue, taking the workforce down to about 2,500 from the current level of 3,000. That pace of downsizing may even accelerate as the firm's technology improves. Asked when that could happen, the co-founder and CEO replied: "I feel a bit like Elon Musk, always wanting to say it's going to happen tomorrow, when it's going take a little bit longer. I think it's very likely within 12 months.' – Bloomberg
Bloomberg
07-04-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
US IPO Bankers Face ‘Paralysis' After Trump Tariffs Halt Plans
Bankers are trying to game out when US initial public offerings could potentially recover after the blow dealt by President Donald Trump's tariffs put deals on hold. With the S&P 500 down 11% over the past three days and the VIX — Wall Street's so-called fear index — at levels not seen for any length of time since the early days of the Covid pandemic in 2020, companies are taking a wait-and-see approach. Dealmakers are on tenterhooks, with those leading IPOs for ticket platform StubHub Holdings Inc., payments firm Klarna Group Plc and trading platform eToro Group Ltd. freezing their preparations.
Bloomberg
04-04-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Klarna, StubHub Pause IPO Plans After Trump Tariffs Roil Markets
Fintech giant Klarna Group Plc and ticket platform StubHub Holdings Inc. are pausing plans for initial public offerings, people with knowledge of the matter said, after the US announced wide-ranging tariffs that sent the stock market into a tailspin. Klarna, a digital payments company founded in Stockholm, and New York-based StubHub had filed for IPOs with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in March and were gearing up to start marketing their shares to potential investors. The market turbulence has led to the companies holding off their IPO plans, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private.
