ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, Private Internet Access (PIA) and ZenMate are owned by Kape Technologies, a British-Israeli company controlled by Israeli billionaire Teddy Sagi. Kape also owns the antivirus brand Intego and the VPN review sites vpnMentor and WizCase. Independent VPNs with no Kape ownership include Buycat VPN (Boycat, Inc.), Proton VPN (Switzerland), Mullvad (Sweden) and IVPN (Gibraltar).
By Team Boycat
When you pay for a VPN, every connection you make runs through that company's servers. So it's reasonable to ask who owns it. Most people don't know that many well-known VPN brands belong to the same few holding companies. This page lists who owns what, with sources, so you can decide for yourself.
| VPN brand | Owner (parent) | Parent HQ / control | Since | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ExpressVPN | Kape Technologies | London; development center in Tel Aviv; controlled by Teddy Sagi (Unikmind Holdings) | 2021 ($936M) | Reuters, Sep 13 2021; Kape RNS |
| CyberGhost | Kape Technologies | same | 2017 | Kape filings; Wikipedia (Kape Technologies) |
| ZenMate | Kape Technologies | same | 2018 | Kape filings |
| Private Internet Access (PIA) | Kape Technologies | same | 2019 | Kape filings |
| Intego (antivirus, Mac) | Kape Technologies | same | 2018 | Kape filings |
| vpnMentor, WizCase (review sites) | Kape (via Webselenese) | same | 2021 | Kape filings; Wikipedia |
| Hotspot Shield, Betternet, Touch VPN, VPN 360 | Point Wild (formerly Pango, earlier Aura) | US | verify | company sites |
| NordVPN, Surfshark | Nord Security | Lithuania / Netherlands | 2022 merger | Nord Security press |
| Proton VPN | Proton AG | Geneva, Switzerland | founded 2017 | proton.me |
| Mullvad | Amagicom AB | Gothenburg, Sweden | 2009 | mullvad.net |
| IVPN | IVPN Limited | Gibraltar | 2009 | ivpn.net |
| Buycat VPN | Boycat, Inc. | United States | 2025 | boycat.io/vpn/who-owns-buycat-vpn |
Last verified: October 2026. Ownership changes. If you spot an error, email [email protected] and we'll correct it within 48 hours.
Kape started in 2011 as Crossrider, an Israeli company that built a toolkit for browser extensions. Its monetization features were widely used by adware, a history documented by security researchers and summarized on Wikipedia. Israeli businessman Teddy Sagi acquired control in 2012. In 2016 the company pivoted to privacy and security, and in 2018 it renamed itself Kape Technologies. It then bought CyberGhost, ZenMate, Private Internet Access and, in 2021, ExpressVPN for about $936 million. In 2023 Sagi's Unikmind Holdings bought out the remaining shareholders (87.55% by May 2023) and took Kape private.
Two facts matter for consumers:
No. NordVPN and Surfshark are owned by Nord Security, founded in Lithuania. Proton VPN is owned by Proton AG in Switzerland. Mullvad is Swedish and IVPN is based in Gibraltar. Some of these providers do run servers located in Israel, which is a different question from ownership. If that matters to you, check each provider's server list.
We'd love you to choose Buycat VPN. But any independently owned VPN with a public no-logs audit is better than paying a company you'd rather not fund.
ExpressVPN is owned by Kape Technologies, a British-Israeli company controlled by Israeli businessman Teddy Sagi. It is not owned by the Israeli state.
CyberGhost (originally Romanian/German) has been owned by Kape Technologies since 2017.
Yes, since 2019.
Server location is not ownership. The money goes to the VPN's owner. If you want to avoid both, choose an independent VPN and skip its Israeli server locations.
Buycat VPN, which we build ourselves. We also list other independent options above, because we'd rather you leave Kape than stay.
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