Affirm, Klarna stocks surge on new collaboration with Google

[Google Cloud]
400tmax/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images

Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AFRM]) and Klarna (NYSE:KLAR [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/KLAR]) stocks were trading higher after the payment processors announced collaboration with Alphabet's (NASDAQ:GOOG [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/GOOG]) (NASDAQ:GOOGL [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/GOOGL]) (TSX:GOOG:CA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/GOOG:CA]) Google.

KLAR was +3.89% Thursday morning to $43.75, while AFRM was 5.12% up to $79.10.

Klarna said the strategic, AI-first partnership [https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/klarna-and-google-cloud-enter-strategic-ai-partnership-to-bring-more-creative-and-engaging-shopping-experiences-to-millions-of-klarna-users-worldwide-302579328.html] with Google Cloud will help the digital bank leverage the latter's "complete AI stack, from infrastructure, to platform, to models, to accelerate the development of innovative, consumer-centric products and creative campaigns".

The partnership is also expected to extend into security, with KLAR using Google Cloud's AI hardware to deploy graph neural networks to combat fraud and money laundering on its platform.

"Early pilots already show the potential: AI-driven creative concepts, from dynamic digital lookbooks to hyper-personalized product campaigns, boosted time spent in our app by 15% and increased orders by 50%. For us, this is proof that when creativity meets AI, the results can transform the way people shop," said Klarna's chief marketing officer, David Sandström.

On the other side, Affirm today announced [https://seekingalpha.com/pr/20260431-affirm-extends-collaboration-with-google-as-a-supporter-of-agent-payments-protocol-ap2] its support for Google's Agent Payments Protocol, extending a long-standing partnership with the technology giant.

The AP2 is an open, payment-agnostic protocol developed with several companies to securely support agent-led payments across platforms.

Affirm said that by contributing to AP2, it is helping embed buy-now-pay-later directly into the architecture of agentic commerce.

MORE ON KLARNA, AFFIRM

* Affirm: Profitable Growth Story Gaining Speed [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4828372-affirm-profitable-growth-story-gaining-speed]
* Wall Street weighs in on Klarna, mostly in a buying mood [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4501996-wall-street-weighs-in-on-klarna-mostly-in-a-buying-mood]