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Portrait of Taavet Hinrikus.

Taavet Hinrikus

Skype’s first hired employee and co-founder of Wise (TransferWise) — the Estonian fintech that exposed banks’ hidden FX markups and listed in London at ~$11 billion.

Wise (formerly TransferWise) · Fintech, cross-border payments · est. 2011

Born in Tartu in 1981. Left university to become Skype’s first salaried employee (2002–2008, director of strategy); later took a business master’s at INSEAD. Co-founded TransferWise in January 2011 with Kristo Käärmann, building a peer-to-peer model that matched currency flows to skip bank FX markups. Rebranded to Wise in 2021 and direct-listed on the LSE in July 2021 at ~$11 billion, becoming among Estonia’s first billionaires. Stepped down as chair, sold down shares, and co-founded the VC firm Plural.

Notable achievements

  • Skype’s first salaried employee; director of strategy (2002–2008).
  • Co-founded TransferWise in January 2011 with Kristo Käärmann.
  • Rebranded to Wise (2021) and direct-listed on the LSE at ~$11 billion (July 2021).
  • Became among Estonia’s first billionaires.
  • Co-founded the venture-capital firm Plural.

Find them online

Wise

Stories about Taavet Hinrikus

Taavet Hinrikus, Skype’s first employee and co-founder of Wise, subject of a case study on Estonian fintech.
tech17 min read

Taavet Hinrikus: Wise and the Honest Insurgent

Taavet Hinrikus went from Skype’s first hire to co-founding Wise, the cross-border-payments company that made bank FX markups visible and listed at ~$11 billion. A sourced, critically neutral case study of Estonia’s fintech rise — and why even the cleanest disruption stories meet the regulators eventually.

Taavet Hinrikus