[Siimteller]

Crypto - Wire’s Proteus is an independent implementation of Axolotl that was later renamed to Signal Protocol. There’s also an external audit available - info and links from Wire.com/privacy.

As to business model, Wire is VC funded by Iconical.com /Janus Friis (co-founder of Skype) and announced the first paid product in July - wire.com/teams.

Full disclosure: I work at Wire.