NordVPN raises $100M in first-ever funding at a $1.6B valuation

Lithuanian startup Nord Security, the firm behind NordVPN, announced it had raised $100 million in its first external investment round from Burda Principal Investments, General Catalyst, and Novator Ventures at a valuation of $1.6 billion.

Virtual private network (VPN) usage has surged in the last few years, with growing concerns over security and data privacy—and sometimes completely different motivations like people wanting to access content blocked in their regions—driving an estimated 30% of all global internet consumers to use a VPN at some point this year.

Chief executives of food delivery firm Wolt, video game maker Supercell, and web developer Automattic also joined the funding round, making NordVPN Lithuania’s second tech unicorn.

Founded in Vilnius, the capital city of Lithuania, in 2012, Nord Security employs over 1,700 people, and it is recruiting an additional 200 staff. The startup has been bootstrapped for the last ten years, a factor that doesn’t seem to have held back the company’s growth. Nord Security sells NordVPN and other identity and security management products like NordLocker for cloud sync and storage, NordPass password manager, NordLayer for network access for businesses, and developer tools to build custom VPNs.

Tom Okman, co-CEO and co-founder of Nord Security, said that this is the first time the company has taken external funding; adding the money will help the firm expand its footprint beyond the 20 countries it currently operates in and build more products for its users.