How Klarna’s IPO Prep Got Tangled Up in a Boardroom Drama

  • Recent boardroom spat stemmed from tension between co-founders
  • Pair continue to clash as company explores potential IPO
A sticker in the window of a shop which reads "Klarna Available Here" in Stockholm.Photographer: Erika Gerdemark/Bloomberg
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The last thing Sebastian Siemiatkowski needed was boardroom drama.

The 42-year-old chief executive officer of the Stockholm-based fintech Klarna had spent months getting his company in better shape ahead of a possible public markets debut. He had also embarked on a risky bet that he could replace many of his customer-facing employees with generative artificial intelligence.