What's going on?

Klarna slimmed its losses in the first half of the year, and a certain famous chatbot might�ve had something to do with that.

What does this mean?

�Buy now, pay later� (BNPL) schemes let customers spread out their payments over time with interest-free credit. That�s a tidy idea when money�s good and those designer shoes aren�t technically in the budget. A potentially risky one, though, when the cost of living has emptied folks� wallets and rate hikes have made interest-free debt a much bigger ask. But so far, even more shoppers are using Klarna to make nice-to-haves more manageable, and what�s more, inflation hasn�t stopped them from keeping up with their debts. Klarna�s real success, though, came from its shrewd cost-cutting and leaning into AI tools like ChatGPT to improve efficiency. That slimmed losses by two-thirds in the first half of this year versus the same time last year, and Klarna even wrangled a month of profit.

Why should I care?

For markets: Go U-S-A!
Klarna�s business was particularly blooming Stateside, now boasting around 30 million users and three straight quarters of gross profit. That�s just the ticket: Klarna has always said it wants an established US presence before it lists on the stock market. And while markets aren�t exactly shining right now, that means Klarna ��once Europe�s most valuable startup ��could hit the public stage in a few years.

Zooming out: You�re techy and you know it.
ChatGPT�s impact on Klarna shows just an iota of its potential in the business world. And OpenAI � the tech�s creator � knows it, launching a corporate version of the chatbot with new features and privacy settings designed to lure businesses in. That should hoist ChatGPT�s revenue even higher, adding to the already $1 billion annual sales it�s headed toward.