The chief executive officer of Klarna, a Swedish financial technology company that recently entered the public market, has emerged as a vocal advocate of what has become known in technical circles as “vibe coding.” Speaking in a newly released episode of the *Sourcery* podcast, CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski explained how artificial intelligence–powered coding assistants, particularly tools such as Cursor, have profoundly influenced not only the way he engages with product development but also the pace at which innovative ideas can be translated into early working prototypes.
Siemiatkowski candidly described his own background as rooted in business rather than software engineering, emphasizing that his initial foray into vibe coding stemmed from curiosity rather than formal technical training. Despite this lack of a traditional programming foundation, he has found that AI-assisted platforms have enabled him to experiment much more directly with code. By doing so, he can bring his creative concepts to life far more rapidly than in the past, often within minutes. He reflected that he has been “vibe coding” in some form for approximately two decades, but until recently the process was comparatively slow and dependent on others. Previously, as he recalled, if he wanted to test out an idea, he would typically convene his engineering team in a meeting room, provide them with instructions, and then wait several weeks before a functional prototype was handed back to him. Today, with AI offering sophisticated auto-coding capabilities, he can sit by himself at a computer, type in his ideas, and receive a workable prototype in as little as twenty minutes—a transformation of speed and efficiency he described as nothing short of remarkable.
Beyond the personal gratification of being able to test ideas so quickly, Siemiatkowski noted that this new approach has tangible benefits for his employees. By experimenting independently and producing early-stage versions of concepts on his own, he spares his engineering and product teams from spending time exploring ideas that may ultimately prove unfeasible or poorly structured. Instead of interrupting their workflows with what he jokingly referred to as “half good ideas and half bad ideas,” he can refine and vet those concepts himself using AI before presenting them to his teams in a more polished, demonstrably functional form. This shift not only streamlines internal collaboration but also allows engineers to focus their talent and energy on solving more valuable, strategically significant problems.
Although Klarna itself declined to comment when contacted by *Business Insider*, the timing of this discussion on vibe coding aligns with a pivotal moment for the company. Just last week, Klarna made its long-anticipated debut on the New York Stock Exchange, nearly twenty years after its founding. The listing proved highly successful, with the stock price soaring more than 30% on its opening day—far above the $40-per-share initial offering price, reaching $52. In an unusual gesture meant to empower employees, Klarna announced that it would immediately convert vested restricted stock units into freely tradable shares. According to an internal email obtained by *Business Insider*, these newly converted shares would bypass the typical six-month post-IPO lockup period, thereby giving staff the opportunity to sell them within days of what had been a $15 billion offering.
The phenomenon of vibe coding—an expression popularized by OpenAI cofounder Andrej Karpathy to describe using AI tools to write or assist with code—has garnered increasing attention across the business and technology landscape. Skeptics contend that relying too heavily on tools such as Cursor risks trivializing the practice of coding and potentially diminishing foundational technical skills. Yet there is no denying that the practice has rapidly become mainstream among high-level executives and entrepreneurs alike. Google CEO Sundar Pichai, for instance, shared earlier this year that he had a thoroughly enjoyable time constructing a webpage using vibe coding techniques. Around the same period, reporting revealed that Amazon was actively discussing the possibility of formally adopting Cursor after employees began requesting official support for the tool.
Industrywide momentum underscores that vibe coding is evolving from a fringe curiosity into a professional competency that corporations increasingly expect. *Business Insider* highlighted in June that companies ranging from global giants such as Visa, Reddit, and DoorDash to promising startups have begun to include explicit requirements for vibe coding or familiarity with AI-supported development platforms like Cursor and Bolt in their job postings. What was once viewed as an optional skillset or playful exercise is now being recognized as essential to maintaining competitiveness, enabling faster innovation cycles, and positioning organizations to fully exploit the opportunities brought by artificial intelligence in software development.
In this sense, Sebastian Siemiatkowski’s embrace of AI-driven prototyping and experimentation situates him firmly within a larger movement at the highest levels of business leadership. His personal journey—transitioning from a non-technical business founder experimenting with ideas alongside engineers, to a CEO who leverages AI to personally shape prototypes within minutes—illustrates both the promise and the disruption of this emerging paradigm. For executives, entrepreneurs, and technologists alike, vibe coding is no longer merely an optional curiosity but is rapidly becoming a defining hallmark of modern product creation and innovation.
Sourse: https://www.businessinsider.com/klarna-ceo-uses-vibe-coding-tools-cursor-product-iterations-2025-9
