Taavet Hinrikus

About Taavet Hinrikus

Taavet Hinrikus cofounded cross-border payments startup Transferwise in 2011 and took it public as Wise in July 2021 on the London Stock Exchange.

Wise offers low cost money transfers across 56 different currencies, allowing users to avoid big banking fees for moving money abroad.

Hinrikus and cofounder Kristo Käärmann are Estonia's first two billionaires. The pair met while working in London.

Käärmann and Hinrikus started Wise after having become "sick of losing money" to banks in fees for sending money to Estonia.

Billionaires Peter Thiel and Richard Branson were early investors, followed by VC firm Andreessen Horowitz and money manager Baillie Gifford.