Startup profile · funding coverage
Wise funding, valuation and investors
International money transfers and multi-currency accounts (Wise plc, LSE: WISE).
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Funding, valuation & investors
Answer-first snapshotLatest funding
Not publicly disclosed
Latest known valuation
Not publicly disclosed
Total disclosed equity funding
Not publicly disclosed
Excludes debt, grants, acquisitions, secondaries, and IPO proceeds.
Current status
public
public · London, United Kingdom
Overview
Wise (formerly TransferWise) provides international money transfers, multi-currency accounts, and business payment products with transparent mid-market exchange rates and low fees. Founded by Kristo Käärmann and Taavet Hinrikus in London, Wise went public on the London Stock Exchange in July 2021 via direct listing. Andreessen Horowitz participated in early venture rounds. Wise serves millions of customers and businesses moving money across borders, competing with banks and remittance incumbents on price transparency.
Why Wise is interesting
Wise transparent FX disrupted remittance incumbents — a16z early backer before London IPO made 'borderless money' a public-company benchmark.
Product & use cases
Wise transfers money internationally using real exchange rates with disclosed fees — plus Wise Account holding balances in multiple currencies with local account details.
- Expats and immigrants sending remittances cheaply
- Freelancers receiving payments in foreign currencies
- Businesses paying international suppliers without bank FX spreads
Key facts
- Direct listing on LSE (Jul 2021)
- a16z early venture participant
- Multi-currency accounts and transparent international transfers
- Rebranded from TransferWise to Wise
Investors in our directory
Funds linked from Wise's profile — open a fund page for stage focus and related deal articles.
Competitive landscape
Edge: Transparent pricing and mid-market rates versus hidden bank spreads — strong word-of-mouth and NPS in cross-border use cases.
Cross-border fintech is competitive with neobanks adding FX; Wise's moat is brand trust on transparency and scale of local payment rails.
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Western Union / MoneyGram incumbent
Legacy remittance networks; higher fees historically.
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Revolut direct
Multi-currency app with overlapping transfer features.
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Bank international wires incumbent
SWIFT transfers with opaque FX margins.
Notable stories
- Wise founders started by swapping currency needs between EUR and GBP — transparency thesis became a public fintech on the LSE (company origin story).
Industries
Market / IPO context
Ticker: WISE (LSE)
IPO status: public
IPO date: 2021-07
Editorial / static context — not a live quote.
FAQs about Wise
Practical answers founders, operators, and investors typically search for.
Last updated:
Editorial note: AI tools assisted with research, structure, or drafting. Venture Capital Tracker retains human editorial responsibility for factual accuracy, relevance, and source quality before publication.