Klarna opens Tech Hub in Berlin
Berlin, 12th of December 2019 - Klarna, one of the world's leading payment providers, today announced its plan to open a tech hub in Germany’s capital at the beginning of next year. This will enable Klarna to further build out its product portfolio and services, better serve its fast-growing merchant and consumer base across Europe and the US and tap into the cities’ rich talent base.
The new Berlin site will be based in the very heart of Berlin’s thriving technology scene in Berlin Mitte and offers Klarna employees space of around 7,400 square meters in a modern and functional repurposed car garage. In the future, it will house more than 500 employees focusing on product, engineering and commercial growth and will be an addition to Klarna’s German offices in Munich and Linden, each with approximately 100 employees.
„Berlin is one of the most exciting tech and entrepreneurial hubs worldwide and attracts exceptional local and international talents from all over the world. We are very proud and humbled to be part of that thriving ecosystem now. This site will enable us to further scale our footprint in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and new markets, but at the same time build new products and services to solve people’s shopping pain points across Europe and the US. We are on a very exciting journey from a pure payment provider to a global shopping ecosystem and our team in Berlin will play a decisive part to reach our ambitious goals.“ says Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO Klarna.
Robert Bueninck, General Manager DACH, adds: “The DACH market as a whole developed fantastically throughout the past years and we have a very strong momentum and growing brand awareness in the region. With several thousands of new merchants which went live with us this year and many millions of consumers using our services, Germany is hugely important to the company to drive volume and revenue growth. The new site in Berlin is testament to our strong track record locally and our commitment to becoming the most favorite way to buy in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.”
Klarna currently employs over 2,500 employees in Stockholm, Los Angeles, New York, Columbus, Madrid, Brussels, London, Vienna, Amsterdam, Berlin, Linden, Munich, Oslo, Helsinki and Uppsala. In August 2019, the company received a 460 million US dollars funding round on a 5.5 billion US dollars post-money valuation, which currently makes Klarna the highest private FinTech company in Europe. Earlier this year, the company tapped into new business verticals by launching new products such as the Klarna Open Banking Platform and Global Authentication Platform. On the consumer side, Klarna introduced the Klarna Card and Klarna’s Instore solution in Germany as well as various new features in the Klarna app that fundamentally change the way how people shop and pay. This underpins the company’s versatility in opening up new revenue streams and ambition to become the go-to destination when it comes to online and offline shopping.
About Klarna
At Klarna, we make shopping smoooth, offering products and services to consumers and retailers including payments, social shopping, and personal finances. Founded in Sweden in 2005, Klarna provides merchants with a flexible range of preferred payment alternatives that enable consumers to easily and securely pay when and how they want everywhere - online and in-store. Over 190,000 merchants, including H&M, Adidas, IKEA, Expedia Group, ASOS, Peloton, Abercrombie & Fitch, Michael Kors, Nike, AliExpress, Superdry, Sephora, Spotify, Wayfair, Gymshark, Samsung, Zara, Topshop, The Hut Group, Steve Madden, Boozt, Sonos, Agent Provocateur, Lufthansa, ETSY, Daniel Wellington and many more have enabled Klarna’s innovative shopping experience, that stretches beyond the actual transaction and also allows consumers to take control over their personal finances. Klarna is the most highly valued fintech in Europe with a valuation of $5.5bn and one of the largest private fintechs globally. Klarna has over 2,500 employees and is active in 17 countries. For more information, visit klarna.com.
