Kape Technologies buys ExpressVPN for almost $1 billion

Kape Technologies buys ExpressVPN for nigh $1 billion

ExpressVPN is bought by Kape Technologies

(Epitome credit: ExpressVPN)

ExpressVPN has been bought past cybersecurity multinational Kape Technologies for $936 million, the highest sum ever paid for a business in the VPN industry.

This conquering sees ExpressVPN get stablemates with competitors Private Internet Access, CyberGhost and Zenmate, and means that Kape has taken control of a proficient portion of the biggest providers on the market — although autonomy is reportedly guaranteed.

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With the addition of ExpressVPN's 3 meg subscribers, the number of paying VPN customers under the Kape imprint has doubled to over six million. Every bit VPNs go along to surge in popularity, we tin can only foresee that number rising.

Market leaders in VPN

Having held the top spot for some time on a number of all-time-of guides online — including ours — ExpressVPN is a well-respected company that is known for privacy innovations like its RAM-simply TrustedServer tech and the new open-source Lightway protocol.

Even so, the British Virgin Islands-based provider has been famously private about its operations throughout its history. In fact, Kape'due south statement to the London Stock Commutation is the first time we've seen figures on ExpressVPN's client numbers, location spread (xl% US-based), revenue ($279.4 million in 2020), and growth (37% in 2020).

And so ExpressVPN certainly wasn't in dire straits, but the massive financial ascendancy that Kape brings should allow the developers to innovate more than and bolster that best-in-grade reputation.

Speaking to TechRadar, ExpressVPN co-founder Dan Pomerantz stated that "ExpressVPN will continue to exist run as an contained service, past our existing team, and have its own production development roadmap, which can now be accelerated with Kape's backing".

It doesn't look like things volition be changing for ExpressVPN customers any time soon.

ExpressVPN, now owned by Kape Technologies, on a range of devices — (Prototype credit: ExpressVPN)

What is Kape Technologies?

Owned past Israeli billionaire Teddy Sagi (founder of Playtech and possessor of London's Camden Market), Kape Technologies describes itself as a "global privacy and security visitor".

Over the past few years, Kape has been hoovering up high-end VPN providers and boosting its reputation equally a security make, but the reception hasn't been totally positive.

That scepticism comes from the fact Kape has its roots in the much-maligned adware program Crossrider. While any ties with Crossrider are now believed to have been thoroughly erased, many users believe that ex-adware creators take no rightful place in the cybersecurity world.

Both Kape and ExpressVPN take gone to lengths to make assurances that all VPNs nether the Kape flag have maintained operational and technical autonomy. From our reviewing process of PIA and CyberGhost, we can say that both providers take kept up quality privacy policies and reliable products years subsequently being bought upwardly.

Who's left to buy?

A wide range of VPNs and VPN-related sites take been bought in recent years, and many by only two companies. Kape Technologies now owns ExpressVPN, the VPNs mentioned earlier, and VPN review site VPNMentor. Another company, J2Global, owns IPVanish, StrongVPN, BufferedVPN and more, plus PC Magazine.

A few providers, most notably large proper name NordVPN, remain independent, but as the thirst for VPN grows and with billion-dollar sums on the tabular array, we wouldn't be surprised if nosotros hear talk of farther acquisitions in the near time to come.

Mo is VPN Editor at Tom's Guide. Day-to-day he oversees VPN, privacy, and cybersecurity content, and also undertakes contained testing of VPN services to ensure his recommendations are accurate and up to appointment. When he's non getting stuck into the nitty-gritty settings of a VPN you've never heard of, you lot'll detect him working on his Peugeot 205 GTi or watching Peep Evidence instead of finally putting up those shelves.