ExpressVPN's owner: Kape Technologies and the BVI company that runs it
ExpressVPN is run by Express Technologies Ltd., registered in British Virgin Islands; parent company: Kape Technologies PLC (UK).
Company
- Registered in
- British Virgin Islands
- Related brands
- ExpressKeys; ExpressMailGuard; Identity Defender; Aircove; ExpressAI; holiday.com eSIM
- Group
- Kape Technologies VPN brands
Other brands of the same group
ExpressVPN is run by Express Technologies Ltd., a company registered in the British Virgin Islands. Since 2021 it has belonged to Kape Technologies PLC, a group based in London, which in turn was taken private in May 2023 by Unikmind Holdings, the vehicle of billionaire Teddy Sagi.
Express Technologies Ltd., Kape and Unikmind: three levels above your account
The subscription you sign is with the bottom layer. The middle layer decides strategy and acquisitions. The top layer holds the shares.
| Level | Name | Where | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | Express Technologies Ltd. | British Virgin Islands | Signs contracts with users, runs the service |
| Parent | Kape Technologies PLC | London, UK | Owns ExpressVPN and several other privacy brands |
| Controlling owner | Unikmind Holdings | Teddy Sagi's company | Delisted Kape from the stock exchange in May 2023 |
How a 2009 startup ended up inside Kape
Peter Burchhardt and Dan Pomerantz, alumni of the Wharton School, founded ExpressVPN in 2009 and kept it independent for over a decade. The sale was announced on 13 September 2021 at a reported $936 million; Kape's own timeline places the completion in December of that year. At the announcement, ExpressVPN said it would remain a separate service from Kape's existing brands.
Two years later the picture at the top changed. In May 2023 Unikmind bought out the remaining shareholders and Kape disappeared from the London Stock Exchange, where it had been listed since September 2014. Kape today claims more than 7 million paying users across its brands.
Crossrider: where Kape started
Kape began in 2011 as Crossrider, which Teddy Sagi bought in late 2012. Its original business was a kit for building and monetising browser extensions, a technology that ad injectors relied on and that security vendors often flagged as adware. New management dropped that line in 2016 and steered the company toward privacy software; the Kape name arrived in March 2018.
Is ExpressVPN an Israeli company?
The controlling shareholder is Israeli-born, while the operator and the parent are registered outside Israel. Sagi's Israeli background and Cypriot citizenship sit at the shareholder level, and Kape runs its development centre in Tel Aviv. Your subscription is governed by BVI law.
VPN services under the same roof
Kape built its portfolio through acquisitions: CyberGhost in March 2017, Intego in July 2018, Private Internet Access in December 2019, then Webselenese, a publisher of VPN review websites, in March 2021, and ExpressVPN later that year. Practical consequence: if you switch from ExpressVPN to CyberGhost or PIA, your money stays inside the same group. The full list lives on the Kape-owned brands page.
| Service | Jurisdiction | VPNRadarLab score | Main ranking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private Internet Access | USA | 5.13 | 9th |
| ExpressVPN | BVI | 4.77 | 14th |
| CyberGhost VPN | Romania | 4.18 | 24th |
| Intego Privacy Protection VPN | USA | 1.3 | 339th |
PIA leads the four despite its US jurisdiction. Intego's low placement reflects what it is: a VPN bundled into a Mac security suite, not a standalone provider.
Products ExpressVPN sells under its own name
The brand has grown a bundle of extras, most tied to the two upper tiers of its Basic, Advanced and Pro plans.
| Brand | What it does | Included in |
|---|---|---|
| ExpressKeys | Password manager | Advanced, Pro |
| Identity Defender | ID alerts, data removal, $3M or $5M insurance | Advanced, Pro |
| holiday.com eSIM | Travel eSIM with 3 GB of data | Advanced, Pro |
| ExpressAI | AI assistant | Pro |
| ExpressMailGuard | Email aliases that hide your real address | Not tied to a tier |
| Aircove | ExpressVPN-branded router | Hardware |
What the BVI registration means for your data
The jurisdiction sits outside the 5, 9 and 14 Eyes alliances. ExpressVPN handles law enforcement requests under BVI law, pushes back on demands and keeps no logs linking activity to a user. KPMG has audited the no-logs claim. A list of other VPN providers registered in the BVI lets you compare jurisdictions.
ExpressVPN ownership FAQ
Who is the owner of Kape Technologies?
Teddy Sagi, through Unikmind Holdings. He is also the founder of gambling software firm Playtech and the owner of London's Camden Market.
Did the sale change how ExpressVPN runs?
The company committed to staying a standalone product. Its apps, plans and branding continue under the ExpressVPN name.
Are ExpressVPN, CyberGhost and PIA the same company?
Separate legal entities, one parent. Kape owns all three, along with Intego.
Is ExpressVPN a public company?
No. Its parent Kape was listed on the London Stock Exchange from 2014 until the May 2023 delisting.
The ownership chain in short
Express Technologies Ltd., registered in the BVI, signs your ExpressVPN contract. Kape Technologies in London owns that operator, having paid a reported $936 million in 2021. Unikmind, Teddy Sagi's company, has controlled Kape privately since May 2023. The same group also owns CyberGhost, Private Internet Access and Intego, plus review-site publisher Webselenese. Kape's own timeline is on its about page.