Klarna raises $639M led by SoftBank's Vision Fund 2 at a $45.6B post-money valuation, up 47.3% from its $31B valuation in early March when it raised $1B
Just over three months after its last funding round, European fintech giant Klarna is announcing today that it has raised another $639 million …
Context & Ripple Effects
Klarna's June 2021 raise caps a steep climb: the Swedish payments firm went from a $460M round at a $5.5B valuation in August 2019 to two mega-rounds within three months of each other — $1B in March at $31B, then this $639M round led by SoftBank's Vision Fund 2 at $45.6B post-money.
The related coverage shows how quickly that peak reversed: by mid-2022 Klarna was reportedly seeking up to $1B at around $30B, then in talks near $15B, before confirming an $800M round at just $6.7B in July 2022. This article is the top-of-market data point that every later number is measured against.
First-order effects
- SoftBank's Vision Fund 2 takes the lead position in Klarna's most expensive round ever, with the firm raising $639M barely three months after its previous $1B raise — capital arriving at the fastest cadence and highest mark in its history.
Second-order effects
- The $45.6B mark becomes the reference price for the European BNPL sector, so when funding conditions tighten it anchors the size of the cuts: Klarna's subsequent attempts to raise at ~$30B, then ~$15B, then the eventual $6.7B close all reprice off this round.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, peak-2021 fintech valuations set by growth-stage funds prove unsupportable once rates rise and public comps fall, forcing later investors like Mubadala and CPP Investments into down rounds while early backers' paper gains evaporate — a structural repricing of private fintech marks.
The trend: Private fintech valuations peaked in mid-2021 with mega-rounds led by SoftBank-era growth capital, then unwound through successive down rounds as rate-driven repricing hit buy-now-pay-later names hardest.