Kape Technologies has bought ExpressVPN in a $936 million cash and stocks deal. The UK-headquartered firm was formerly known as Crossrider. In 2018 it restructured and shifted its focus away from advertising.
Kape announced the move in a statement. It said that combining the two entities would work to create a “premium consumer privacy and security player”. ExpressVPN announced the move via a tweet, stating that it was joining Kape to form “global leader in digital privacy.”
People use VPNs for a number of reasons, from accessing region-blocked content to maintaining online privacy. In particular, some privacy-conscious users take issue with tools that work to track them for the purposes of targeted advertising.
That’s why it may seem odd to some that ExpressVPN is being joined with Kape which formerly developed tech focused on injecting adverts into user’s computers under the name Crossrider.
Compatible Bedfellows?
Sometimes yesterday’s enemy is today’s ally. This appears to be the case here.
Many criticized the practices of Crossrider, with MalwareBytes going so far as to dub some of its software “adware”. The firm is making conscious efforts to leave its controversial past behind it. This is a move first marked by rebranding as Kape.
Kape is going in a new direction, in all fairness.
ExpressVPN isn’t the first VPN service Kape has bought. It already owns Cyber Ghost VPN and ZenMate, among a few others. These services have maintained their integrity under Kape’s ownership.
In conversation with The Register, ExpressVPN vice president Harold Li said that based on what they’ve seen, they’re “confident about working with Kape.” Kape’s VPNs now have a combined subscriber base of roughly six million users.
For the time being Kape has stated that the new acquisition will run independently from the British Virgin Islands.
Jurisdiction is a crucial advantage high-quality VPNs hold, so this news should be a relief to the numerous existing users of ExpressVPN.
Garan is a writer interested in how tech reshapes the environment, and how the environment reshapes tech. You'll usually find him inoculating against future shock and arguing with bots.
