Startup News: Sweden’s Klarna plans to launch IPO in U.S. 

In December, fintech firm Klarna made Forge Global’s list of five companies likely to go public this year. At the time, however, it wasn’t clear which country the Stockholm-based company would choose to debut its shares.

Last week, however, Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski ended the speculation. In an interview with Bloomberg, he said that the company is eyeing an exchange in the U.S. for an IPO sometime in the near future. Siemiatkowski added that the U.S. is a “natural choice” for an IPO because it’s the company’s largest country market by revenue, dwarfing other countries such as the U.K. and Germany.

Founded in 2005, Klarna provides payment processing for the e-commerce industry. According to Bloomberg, the company saw its valuation cut sharply in the past year to $6.7 billion from about $45.6 billion after weakened business conditions caused by rising interest rates. But the valuation rose to $7.85 billion in December 2023 after the company reported its first quarterly operating profit in four years.

Figma offers improved benefits package to workers after Adobe takeover Shelved

In the wake of a failed acquisition by software maker Abode, Figma has come up with a consolation prize to cheer up workers.

According to Reuters, Figma, a cloud-based platform for collaborative design in corporate team environments, will improve equity packages for employees who remain with the company and also offer an optional program to those who wish to leave the company.

Last month, Adobe — the maker of Photoshop, Acrobat Reader, and other enterprise and consumer software — dropped its $20 billion deal to buy Figma after concluding that there was “no clear path” to winning antitrust approvals in Europe and the U.K. Founded in 2011, San Francisco-based Figma had a valuation of $10.38 billion as of June 2021.

Figure Technologies seeks to launch a Stablecoin

Figure Technologies, the lending-focused fintech that uses the blockchain, is seeking approval to issue an interest-bearing stablecoin.

According to Bloomberg, “The move is a novel attempt at creating a new class of stablecoins with federal legitimacy, and if successful, Figure will be offering the first stablecoin regulated as a security in the U.S."

Bloomberg writes that Figure is seeking to register the stablecoin as so-called “face-amount certificates,” using blockchain technology. If approved, it will be available to both U.S. retail and institutional investors.

Founded in 2018 by serial tech entrepreneur Mike Cagney, San Francisco-based Figure specializes in mortgage financing and bridge loans. Its last known valuation, as of May 2021, was $3.3 billion.