Kadmos

In 2021, MIT graduates Sasha Makarovych and Justus Schmueser founded Kadmos with a clear mission: to revolutionize how international workers receive their salaries. The founders recognized that migrant workers, particularly seafarers, were trapped in an outdated system riddled with opaque mark-ups, kickbacks, and inefficient cash transactions. They built a modern fintech platform that brings transparency, low margins, and seamless digital payments to industries that have been neglected by traditional financial services.

Today, Kadmos powers an end-to-end salary payment platform that serves shipping companies and maritime crews worldwide. The platform digitizes payroll, automates processes, and drastically reduces administrative costs while providing employees with instant access to their wages through a mobile app and global Visa debit card. Following a €29 million Series A funding round led by Blossom Capital, Kadmos continues to expand its reach, recently partnering with major cruise lines and launching new features like GCash payouts for seafarers in the Philippines. In June 2025, NYK Group, one of Japan's historic shipping firms, reached an agreement to acquire Kadmos, marking a significant milestone in the company's journey to transform cross-border salary payments.