Klarna going ‘all in on AI’ to fuel super-app push
Klarna is “going all in on AI” as it looks to push beyond its buy-now pay-later bread and butter and take on banks on cheap lending, its global chief has said.
In a recent blog post, Sebastian Siemiatkowski said the Swedish fintech firm would be ramping up its investment in AI in a bid to roll out new shopping and lending products for customers that could undercut bigger banks.
“The implications of such a system for traditional banking could be profound. Banks profit largely from the ‘interest rate spread’, often possible because the average consumer lacks the time to shop for better options,” Siemiatkowski wrote.
“AI can slice through this gap, providing options that are just a tap away, forcing banks to compete on value and better products, not entrapment. That’s why at Klarna we are going all-in on AI.”
The comments signal an acceleration of Klarna’s plan towards so-called superapp status after a drive into new products over the past two years. Klarna snapped up price comparison firm PriceRunner last year and has this year partnered with ChatGPT as well as rolled out an AI-powered feed in April that recommends products to shoppers.
AI investment globally has also been supercharged by the launch of ChatGPT earlier this year, which has triggered a race for firms to roll out new tools. A recent survey by McKinsey found that 40 per cent of organisations were planning to ramp up their investment in AI overall due to advances in generative AI technology.
But the uptick in investment has prompted some fears of a wipe-out in some jobs
Siemiatkowski said that while AI would “revolutionise” the shopping experience, hundreds of millions of jobs could be at risk globally.
Goldman Sachs has estimated that 300 million jobs could potentially be at risk from AI, which Siemiatkowski said was “probably realistic” as “entire professions can be automated at a stroke”.
A spokesperson said that Klarna did not expect any layoffs as a result of its use of AI.
“As Klarna is a fast-growing company, AI will allow us to grow more quickly while increasing our workforce more slowly. So we don’t anticipate shrinking headcount,” they added.
Klarna’s diversification push comes as the firm’s core deferred payments products have come under increasing scrutiny as lawmakers look to shield shoppers from mounting piles of debt amid a cost of living crunch.
Regulation is slated to come to the UK by the end of this year but lawmakers have reportedly mulled delays to the clampdown.