Sweden's Klarna buys talent from troubled German fintech startup Cookies

Swedish payment service provider Klarna has agreed to take on the team behind the insolvent Berlin fintech startup Cookies.

Swedish payment service provider Klarna has agreed to take on the team behind the insolvent Berlin fintech startup Cookies.

The Cookies app, founded by former N26 employees Garry Krugljakow and Lamine Cheloufi, aimed to simplify mobile money transfers and was once one of the most hyped up-and-coming German fintech companies.

However, management in-fighting led Krugljakow to withhold his consent for raising needed outside funds. Cheloufi expressed his frustration in a blog post: "A distorted relationship is no justification for blocking financing that would ensure the survival of a company and the jobs of the people working there."

Due to lack of funding, the company was forced to file for bankruptcy earlier this month.

While the terms of the acquisition by Klarna were not disclosed, Swedish and German media report that the sum is likely low and that it was essentially an "acquihire."

The Cookies team of 17, headed by Cheloufi, will work on unspecified "new projects" at Klarna, a spokesperson told German publication T3n.

"I am thrilled to become part of Klarna together with our strong team and take on new innovative projects out of Berlin. For us, this is a unique chance to join Klarna and benefit from their wealth of expertise, tech and talent," Cheloufi said in a statement on the Cookies web site. "Now we want to devote ourselves to what we are best in – building user-friendly products."

Stockholm-based Klarna provides online payment services for e-commerce web sites that aims to eliminate risk for both the buyer and seller. With the service, customers are only charged after receiving the product. The company employs more than 1,400 people.

Read more: T3n (in German)

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