Kristo Käärmann

Käärmann holds an MSc in Mathematics and Technology from the University of Tartu. Before Wise, he worked as a consultant at Deloitte and PwC.⁠[1]

In 2010 Käärmann co-founded the cross-border payments company Wise, where he serves as chief executive officer. In 2016 the company operated under the name TransferWise.⁠[1][2]

On February 3, 2016, Andreessen HorowitzAndreessen HorowitzAndreessen Horowitz (a16z) is a venture capital firm founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. It invests from the seed stage through the growth stage and provides operational support to its portfolio companies.Open the full entry (a16z) released the episode “a16z Podcast: The Future of Money and Monetization,” recorded at a panel during a16z’s U.K. Tech Summit. a16z general partner Alex RampellAlex RampellAlex Rampell (Alastair Rampell) is an entrepreneur and investor, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz and leader of its Apps practice. He co-founded TrialPay and Affirm and serves on the boards of Wise and Rocket Companies.Open the full entry moderated, and Käärmann appeared as founder of TransferWise alongside James Beshara, founder and CEO of Tilt.⁠[2]

The panel discussed how technology companies compete with traditional banks in areas such as fundraising and money transfer: what role banks will play, whether tech companies are partners or competitors to banks, and what consumers will pay for if banking is unbundled. The episode was uploaded to the a16z YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry channel on January 1, 2019.⁠[2][3]

On October 28, 2024, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced a £350,000 fine on Käärmann for breaching Senior Manager Conduct Rule 4 by failing to notify the FCA of significant tax issues. He agreed to resolve the matter and received a 30% discount; the fine would otherwise have been £500,000.⁠[4]

The FCA stated that in February 2021 Käärmann paid HMRC £365,651 after HMRC penalized him for deliberately failing to notify it of a capital gains tax liability from his 2017 sale of shares worth £10 million, and that in September 2021 HMRC added him to its public list of tax defaulters. From February to September 2021 he was a senior manager holding the chief executive function at Wise Assets UK Ltd, and he did not notify the FCA of these issues for more than seven months after becoming aware of them.⁠[4]