Klarna files for U.S. IPO

Top News

• Klarna’s going public: At long last, European fintech giant Klarna is going public. But not at home—instead, the buy now, pay later unicorn is targeting the United States’ capital markets. Alex has notes on its financial journey here, but the gist is that we’re heading into the new year, and we could have a decacorn-ish IPO to watch when 2025 touches down. Fintech VCs, this is your moment.

• Coinbase snaps up Utopia Labs: It’s crypto’s moment, as many of the technology’s builders look forward to a new presidential administration in the United States. A more crypto-friendly regulatory bent is expected. The excitement has led to rapid price appreciation in many digital assets, and a valuation rush for Coinbase. The company also made waves today by announcing that it is buying Utopia Labs, a crypto startup that had raised at least $23 million while private. Utopia worked with stablecoins, which TWiST has covered extensively, including a recent interview with Circle’s CEO.

• Spotify to go ‘Super Premium’: Music fans, rejoice. Spotify’s premium offering is not dead; it’s just not here yet. TechCrunch reports that Spotify CEO Daniel Ek told investors during an earnings call that the eventual, higher-cost service could include “better sound quality and, vaguely, ‘a bunch of other things.’” Shares of Spotify rose 12.5% today after better-than-expected earnings and enthusiasm for a higher-priced consumer offering. Whenever that does, finally, appear.

TWiST500

Klarna’s a TWiST500 company, meaning that I’d normally take the time here to wax about its history and progress. But, since we got to Klarna in a material way on the podcast today, let’s talk about a different T500 member that is in the news: CoreWeave.

Recall that CoreWeave is one of the so-called ‘neocloud’ providers in the market today, companies building specialized cloud products to help power the AI wave we see today. What’s CoreWeave up to now? Selling $650 million worth of its shares in a secondary offering.

Notably at a higher price, too. The company’s valuation now rests at $23 billion, Reuters reports, up from the $19 billion it was valued at earlier this year. That’s a lot of coins, and the demand for CoreWeave equity implies that it is both still scaling like made, and has attractive unit economics.

Not to say that the TWiST500, working its way towards being 25% filled-in, is a perfect prognosticator. But some of the pics that we’ve made are already turning in proximate news items that are more than a little bullish. Onward — Alex

p.s. Writer is now part of the TWiST500 list, officially. Due to some sort of user error — cough — after I added it yesterday, it failed to materialize. That’s been fixed. Next up? More American Dynamism entries.

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This Week in Startups

E2043: Jason and Alex dive into an action-packed episode featuring VATN Systems' Nelson Mills discussing underwater drone defense applications and advancements in military tech. They explore underwater autonomy, manufacturing insights, and the global defense funding climate, along with a look at emerging robotics in warfare and LG’s stretchable screen technology. The show rounds out with insights on Klarna's IPO, fintech challenges, and AI's transformative impact on the job market and economy.

E2042: Jason and Alex sit down with a great guest—Serve Robotics CEO Ali Kashani. They chat about Serve's journey scaling food delivery automation with robots on the streets and in kitchens, along with their creative route to Nasdaq via a reverse merger. They also dive into the "Trump Trade" and how deregulation is driving a surge in fintech stocks and crypto optimism, and wrap up with insights on shifts in immigration policy.

E2041: Jason and Alex dive into Apple's privacy challenges and discuss trust in tech companies. They explore recent trends in AI, including OpenAI's acquisition of chat.com and Reddit's evolving growth strategies. The episode wraps up with analysis on major IPOs, market trends, and Amazon's AI ambitions.

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