China’s Ant Financial Services Group has acquired a minority stake of Klarna, Europe’s most valuable fintech startup.
As reported by Reuters on Wednesday, the Chinese giant has obtained a stake of less than 1 percent made up of existing and new shares.
Though neither of the companies officially disclosed the terms of the deals, the anonymous sources of the publication revealed that the investment was made at a “slight uptick” from the $460 million Funding Round
Funding Round
Startups look to raise capital can participate in a funding round. These refers to the various rounds of funding that occur upon proof of concept, customer base growth, and the probability of success. While they are various types of funding rounds, the most commonly seen in startups include the following funding rounds: Seed, Series A Fundraising, Series B Fundraising, and Series C Fundraising. In order for a funding round to take place, a valuation must be performed by analysts for the business in question. Common factors that analysts use for valuations include market size, risk, management, and historical transparency. Types of Funding RoundsThe seed funding round officially kicks off a startup’s equity fundraising process. Used by startups to finance the beginning stages of its business, some proceeds of seed funding may go towards product development and market research.Common investors include angel investors, friends, family, and venture capital firms.Companies that emerge out of the seed funding round that has gone on to prove its ability to build a consumer base while generating a regularly occurring revenue can participate in Series A Fundraising.Businesses that wish to opt-in to a Series A funding round must also possess a strong business strategy to illustrate how it will continue to manifest into a successful business. Series B Fundraising are available for companies that are seeking to depart the development stage that has valuations between $30 million to $60 million.Companies that go on to make it to Series C funding rounds are considerably successful where the aim is to scale a company as efficiently and quickly as possible. Typical investors include investment banks, private equity firms, and hedge funds. For many investors, monitoring how a startup goes through funding rounds is a tactical strategy for securing high-probability investments.
Startups look to raise capital can participate in a funding round. These refers to the various rounds of funding that occur upon proof of concept, customer base growth, and the probability of success. While they are various types of funding rounds, the most commonly seen in startups include the following funding rounds: Seed, Series A Fundraising, Series B Fundraising, and Series C Fundraising. In order for a funding round to take place, a valuation must be performed by analysts for the business in question. Common factors that analysts use for valuations include market size, risk, management, and historical transparency. Types of Funding RoundsThe seed funding round officially kicks off a startup’s equity fundraising process. Used by startups to finance the beginning stages of its business, some proceeds of seed funding may go towards product development and market research.Common investors include angel investors, friends, family, and venture capital firms.Companies that emerge out of the seed funding round that has gone on to prove its ability to build a consumer base while generating a regularly occurring revenue can participate in Series A Fundraising.Businesses that wish to opt-in to a Series A funding round must also possess a strong business strategy to illustrate how it will continue to manifest into a successful business. Series B Fundraising are available for companies that are seeking to depart the development stage that has valuations between $30 million to $60 million.Companies that go on to make it to Series C funding rounds are considerably successful where the aim is to scale a company as efficiently and quickly as possible. Typical investors include investment banks, private equity firms, and hedge funds. For many investors, monitoring how a startup goes through funding rounds is a tactical strategy for securing high-probability investments.
Read this Term last August.
Founded in 2005, the Swedish startup offers “buy now, pay later” services on e-commerce platforms, allowing consumers to buy online without having to provide payment details to the merchant they are buying from. Instead, Klarna pays for the order and sends an invoice to the original consumer, who then typically gets 14 to 30 days to settle.
According to Crunchbase, the startup raised a total of $1.7 billion over the years and is backed by American rapper Snoop Dogg, venture capital firm Sequoia Capital and also Australia’s biggest lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia, which invested $200 million in January.
After the Dragoneer Investment Group-led financing round last August, the startup was valued at $5.5 billion.
China - a market with huge potential
Klarna is now focusing on expanding its services beyond Europe and entering new global markets. This tie between the two will also help the startup to tap the Chinese market, given that the country’s e-commerce giant Alibaba Group is an affiliate of Ant Financial.
“The current partnership where Klarna Payments
Payments
One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonly the basis of exchange involves fiat currency or legal tender, be it in the form of cash, credit or bank transfers, debit, or checks. While typically associated with cash transfers, payments can also be made in anything of perceived value, be it stock or bartering – though this is far more limited today than it has been in the past.The Largest Players in the Payments IndustryFor most individuals, the payments industry is dominated currently by card companies such as Visa or Mastercard, which facilitate the use of credit or debit expenditures. More recently, this industry has seen the rise of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) payments services, which have gained tremendous traction in Europe, the United States, and Asia, among other continents.One of the biggest parameters for payments is timing, which looms as a crucial element for execution. By this metric, consumer demand incentivizes technology that prioritizes the fastest payment execution.This can help explain the preference for debit and credit payments overtaking check or money orders, which in previous decades were much more commonly utilized. A multi-billion-dollar industry, the payments space has seen some of the most innovation and advances in recent years as companies look to push contactless technology with faster execution times.
One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonly the basis of exchange involves fiat currency or legal tender, be it in the form of cash, credit or bank transfers, debit, or checks. While typically associated with cash transfers, payments can also be made in anything of perceived value, be it stock or bartering – though this is far more limited today than it has been in the past.The Largest Players in the Payments IndustryFor most individuals, the payments industry is dominated currently by card companies such as Visa or Mastercard, which facilitate the use of credit or debit expenditures. More recently, this industry has seen the rise of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) payments services, which have gained tremendous traction in Europe, the United States, and Asia, among other continents.One of the biggest parameters for payments is timing, which looms as a crucial element for execution. By this metric, consumer demand incentivizes technology that prioritizes the fastest payment execution.This can help explain the preference for debit and credit payments overtaking check or money orders, which in previous decades were much more commonly utilized. A multi-billion-dollar industry, the payments space has seen some of the most innovation and advances in recent years as companies look to push contactless technology with faster execution times.
Read this Term are available in AliExpress should now expand to new markets globally,” Sebastian Siemiatkowski, co-founder and CEO of Klarna, told Reuters.
“The U.S. is often used as a benchmark of what it means to be competitive but in my world, it just does not compare to the Chinese one...The level of innovation there is just tremendous, especially in-app retail and payments - they are the global pacesetters. For Klarna, there is much more opportunity in other markets.”
China’s Ant Financial Services Group has acquired a minority stake of Klarna, Europe’s most valuable fintech startup.
As reported by Reuters on Wednesday, the Chinese giant has obtained a stake of less than 1 percent made up of existing and new shares.
Though neither of the companies officially disclosed the terms of the deals, the anonymous sources of the publication revealed that the investment was made at a “slight uptick” from the $460 million Funding Round
Funding Round
Startups look to raise capital can participate in a funding round. These refers to the various rounds of funding that occur upon proof of concept, customer base growth, and the probability of success. While they are various types of funding rounds, the most commonly seen in startups include the following funding rounds: Seed, Series A Fundraising, Series B Fundraising, and Series C Fundraising. In order for a funding round to take place, a valuation must be performed by analysts for the business in question. Common factors that analysts use for valuations include market size, risk, management, and historical transparency. Types of Funding RoundsThe seed funding round officially kicks off a startup’s equity fundraising process. Used by startups to finance the beginning stages of its business, some proceeds of seed funding may go towards product development and market research.Common investors include angel investors, friends, family, and venture capital firms.Companies that emerge out of the seed funding round that has gone on to prove its ability to build a consumer base while generating a regularly occurring revenue can participate in Series A Fundraising.Businesses that wish to opt-in to a Series A funding round must also possess a strong business strategy to illustrate how it will continue to manifest into a successful business. Series B Fundraising are available for companies that are seeking to depart the development stage that has valuations between $30 million to $60 million.Companies that go on to make it to Series C funding rounds are considerably successful where the aim is to scale a company as efficiently and quickly as possible. Typical investors include investment banks, private equity firms, and hedge funds. For many investors, monitoring how a startup goes through funding rounds is a tactical strategy for securing high-probability investments.
Startups look to raise capital can participate in a funding round. These refers to the various rounds of funding that occur upon proof of concept, customer base growth, and the probability of success. While they are various types of funding rounds, the most commonly seen in startups include the following funding rounds: Seed, Series A Fundraising, Series B Fundraising, and Series C Fundraising. In order for a funding round to take place, a valuation must be performed by analysts for the business in question. Common factors that analysts use for valuations include market size, risk, management, and historical transparency. Types of Funding RoundsThe seed funding round officially kicks off a startup’s equity fundraising process. Used by startups to finance the beginning stages of its business, some proceeds of seed funding may go towards product development and market research.Common investors include angel investors, friends, family, and venture capital firms.Companies that emerge out of the seed funding round that has gone on to prove its ability to build a consumer base while generating a regularly occurring revenue can participate in Series A Fundraising.Businesses that wish to opt-in to a Series A funding round must also possess a strong business strategy to illustrate how it will continue to manifest into a successful business. Series B Fundraising are available for companies that are seeking to depart the development stage that has valuations between $30 million to $60 million.Companies that go on to make it to Series C funding rounds are considerably successful where the aim is to scale a company as efficiently and quickly as possible. Typical investors include investment banks, private equity firms, and hedge funds. For many investors, monitoring how a startup goes through funding rounds is a tactical strategy for securing high-probability investments.
Read this Term last August.
Founded in 2005, the Swedish startup offers “buy now, pay later” services on e-commerce platforms, allowing consumers to buy online without having to provide payment details to the merchant they are buying from. Instead, Klarna pays for the order and sends an invoice to the original consumer, who then typically gets 14 to 30 days to settle.
According to Crunchbase, the startup raised a total of $1.7 billion over the years and is backed by American rapper Snoop Dogg, venture capital firm Sequoia Capital and also Australia’s biggest lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia, which invested $200 million in January.
After the Dragoneer Investment Group-led financing round last August, the startup was valued at $5.5 billion.
China - a market with huge potential
Klarna is now focusing on expanding its services beyond Europe and entering new global markets. This tie between the two will also help the startup to tap the Chinese market, given that the country’s e-commerce giant Alibaba Group is an affiliate of Ant Financial.
“The current partnership where Klarna Payments
Payments
One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonly the basis of exchange involves fiat currency or legal tender, be it in the form of cash, credit or bank transfers, debit, or checks. While typically associated with cash transfers, payments can also be made in anything of perceived value, be it stock or bartering – though this is far more limited today than it has been in the past.The Largest Players in the Payments IndustryFor most individuals, the payments industry is dominated currently by card companies such as Visa or Mastercard, which facilitate the use of credit or debit expenditures. More recently, this industry has seen the rise of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) payments services, which have gained tremendous traction in Europe, the United States, and Asia, among other continents.One of the biggest parameters for payments is timing, which looms as a crucial element for execution. By this metric, consumer demand incentivizes technology that prioritizes the fastest payment execution.This can help explain the preference for debit and credit payments overtaking check or money orders, which in previous decades were much more commonly utilized. A multi-billion-dollar industry, the payments space has seen some of the most innovation and advances in recent years as companies look to push contactless technology with faster execution times.
One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonly the basis of exchange involves fiat currency or legal tender, be it in the form of cash, credit or bank transfers, debit, or checks. While typically associated with cash transfers, payments can also be made in anything of perceived value, be it stock or bartering – though this is far more limited today than it has been in the past.The Largest Players in the Payments IndustryFor most individuals, the payments industry is dominated currently by card companies such as Visa or Mastercard, which facilitate the use of credit or debit expenditures. More recently, this industry has seen the rise of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) payments services, which have gained tremendous traction in Europe, the United States, and Asia, among other continents.One of the biggest parameters for payments is timing, which looms as a crucial element for execution. By this metric, consumer demand incentivizes technology that prioritizes the fastest payment execution.This can help explain the preference for debit and credit payments overtaking check or money orders, which in previous decades were much more commonly utilized. A multi-billion-dollar industry, the payments space has seen some of the most innovation and advances in recent years as companies look to push contactless technology with faster execution times.
Read this Term are available in AliExpress should now expand to new markets globally,” Sebastian Siemiatkowski, co-founder and CEO of Klarna, told Reuters.
“The U.S. is often used as a benchmark of what it means to be competitive but in my world, it just does not compare to the Chinese one...The level of innovation there is just tremendous, especially in-app retail and payments - they are the global pacesetters. For Klarna, there is much more opportunity in other markets.”
