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Sebastian Siemiatkowski

CEO & Co-Founder, Klarna

Search every verified Sebastian Siemiatkowski interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO and co-founder of Klarna, has been discussing the company’s evolution from a buy now, pay later provider toward a broader financial services platform. In multiple appearances in June 2026, he described Klarna’s goal of reaching parity with Visa and Mastercard as a payment network and expanding its offerings to include everyday spending products. Siemiatkowski stated that Klarna does not offer revolving credit, calling it a “bad concept,” and said the company focuses on fixed-term, interest-free installments. He also noted that Klarna’s largest and fastest-growing market is the United States, where he said the company sees opportunity due to higher interchange fees compared to Europe. Siemiatkowski has also commented on Klarna’s use of artificial intelligence. He said the company launched an AI customer service bot that performed the work of about 700 outsourced agents, and that the bot has since expanded to handle tasks equivalent to 850 agents. He attributed the reduction in cost base to this technology, adding that no employees lost their jobs because the roles were already outsourced. On regulation, Siemiatkowski said Klarna obtained its first banking license in 2010 and described the experience as advantageous, providing clarity and access to deposits. He expressed general support for free markets while acknowledging that some rules can be helpful in business.

Selected quotes

Recent appearances

  • Klarna Founder: From $0 to $46 Billion: Sebastian Siemiatkowski

    Sebastian Siemiatkowski is one of the most successful businessmen in Europe. He is the founder of Klarna, a company that is now worth an incredible $46 billion. Sebastian himself is now worth over $3.6 billion, and what’s more, he’s only just getting started. Sebastian has been incredibly honest with us on what it takes to succeed and the burdens that come with it. Sebastian started Klarna when he was just 23, he hadn’t finished university and he gave up everything when he promised himself that his business would be the only thing in his life for 6 months. He’s much older and much wiser now, a…

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  • Klarna’s Sebastian Siemiatkowski on Agentic Commerce, Credit Cards, & Financing Everything

    Klarna, best known as a buy now, pay later giant, came of age during the e-commerce boom. But as AI takes over everything, including our shopping, Liz and Rohan ask Sebastian about what an agentic commerce future means for his business, if Klarna will eventually become a bank, the truth about his AI customer service experiment, whether people should really be financing their DoorDash orders, and much more. Sign up to get Semafor Business in your inbox: https://www.semafor.com/newsletters/b... This season of Compound Interest is in partnership with Amazon Business. Amazon Business is a truste…

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  • Money 20/20 EU: Klarna Founder + CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski Talks Company Evolution

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  • Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski Talks Company Evolution at Money2020 Europe

    Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski joins NYSE Live from Money 20/20 Europe to discuss his company's evolution.

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  • Klarna kraschar på börsen: ”Bästa kvartalet vi har gjort”

    Sebastian Siemiatkowski, vd för Klarna kommenterar kvartalsrapporten. Två timmar in i handeln så är Klarna ned -25%. ----------------------- Se alla klipp från våra program på di.tv. Följ Di TV på Twitter   / dise_tv   #di #ekonomi #dagensindustri #finance #aktier #börsen #finans #stockmarket #stocks Följ Di TV på Facebook   / dagensindustritv  

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  • Klarna CEO: SaaS is Dead: Why Systems of Record Will Die in an Agentic World

    Sebastian Siemiatkowski is the co-founder and CEO of Klarna, the global digital bank with over 114 million global active users and 3.4 million transactions per day. Seb is one of the leading public company CEOs pushing the boundaries of AI. ----------------------------------------------- Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:16 The real Threat to SaaS 05:58 What revenue multiple will software companies trade at in the future? 10:31 Why you need to build your own customer service AI to win 22:12 Klarna has two times the customer base of Revolut. They will beat Revolut 24:17 How I lost a billion dollars…

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  • From the frontier Lessons from Klarna's ambitious AI rollout

    Session speakers: Sebastian Siemiatkowski — CEO and co-founder, Klarna Kevin Delaney (Moderator) — Co-founder and editor-in-chief, Charter. Editor-in-chief, The San Francisco Standard Few companies have been as outspoken about their internal AI efforts as Klarna. The company has reduced the size of its workforce as it doubled down on AI investments, and CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski has acknowledged that some of its efforts went too far. In this conversation, Siemiatowski will explore how Klarna is using AI today and the lessons he's learned.

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  • ‘BROKEN SYSTEM’: Trump is ‘WISE’ to rein this industry in, says Klarna CEO

    Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski explains why he supports President Donald Trump’s push to cap credit card interest rates at 10% on ‘The Claman Countdown.’ #fox #media #breakingnews #us #usa #new #news #breaking #foxbusiness #theclamancountdown #economy #finance #business #markets #credit #banking #interestrates #consumers #regulation #politics #political #politicalnews #government #trump #donaldtrump Subscribe to Fox Business: https://bit.ly/2D9Cdse Watch more Fox Business Video: https://video.foxbusiness.com Watch Fox Business Network Live: http://www.foxnewsgo.com/ FOX Business Network…

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  • Market bull talks 2026 playbook, Klarna CEO weighs in on Trump's 10% credit card cap

    Morning Brief anchor Julie Hyman breaks down the latest market news for January 16, 2026 John Stoltzfus, chief investment strategist at Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., discusses his playbook for a bullish 2026. Klarna Co-Founder and CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski speaks with Julie Hyman about his perspective on Trump's credit card policy proposal and the broader fintech landscape as it pertains to consumers. The US and Taiwan reached a trade deal in which Taiwanese tech companies will invest $250 billion in domestic chip manufacturing in the US. #youtube #stocks #investing #ai About Yahoo Finance: Y…

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  • Americans 'Ripped Off' By Credit Cards, Says Klarna CEO

    Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski says Americans are being ripped off by high credit card rates and that rate caps have been effective in Europe. Siemiatkowski discusses President Trump's call for a one-year 10% cap on credit card interest rates with Caroline Hyde and Ed Ludlow on "Bloomberg Tech." -------- Like this video? Subscribe to Bloomberg Technology on YouTube:    / @bloombergtechnology     Watch the latest full episodes of "Bloomberg Technology" with Caroline Hyde and Ed Ludlow here:    • Bloomberg Technology With Caroline Hyde an...     Get the latest in tech from Silicon Va…

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