Economic Audit: ExpressVPN

Target: ExpressVPN (consumer VPN; Express Technologies Ltd / ExpressVPN Inc; owned by Kape Technologies plc) Domain: Economic (Economic) Date: June 2026 Scope: ExpressVPN’s own economic conduct re Israel (ownership, revenue flows, presence). Kape’s/Sagi’s other activities and sibling brands are attributed at the parent/owner/sibling level.

Supply Chain & Sourcing Relationships

ExpressVPN operates as a software-defined service delivered over rented third-party data-centre infrastructure in more than 100 countries; it does not manufacture hardware and does not publish a public list of data-centre or hardware vendors.¹ Its physical-layer sourcing relationships are therefore opaque and no evidence of Israeli-origin hardware procurement has been identified through public sources.

ExpressVPN does have documented commercial partnership agreements with major OEM device manufacturers for software pre-installation: HP consumer PCs receive ExpressVPN pre-installed across the Spectre, Envy, Pavilion, and Omen product lines;² Dynabook (formerly Toshiba’s PC division) ships new laptops with ExpressVPN pre-installed;³ HMD Global (Nokia devices) announced a long-term partnership with ExpressVPN.⁴ None of these device-OEM partners have documented Israeli corporate ties that would render this supply relationship in-scope.

No public evidence identified of ExpressVPN sourcing from Israeli vendors, using Israeli-operated data centres, or holding Israeli supplier contracts.

Product Origin, Labeling & Regulatory Compliance

ExpressVPN’s consumer-facing product is a subscription VPN software service. It markets itself as incorporated in and subject to the laws of the British Virgin Islands (BVI), a self-governing Caribbean territory that is not part of the UK legal system, not a member of the 14 Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance, and subject to no mandatory data-retention laws.⁵ The company promotes BVI jurisdiction as a core privacy selling point.⁵

The operating entity is Express Technologies Ltd., incorporated in the BVI.⁶ Product labeling and terms of service consistently represent the BVI as the home jurisdiction. No false or misleading origin claims have been identified, and no Israeli-jurisdiction product labeling applies.

No public evidence identified of regulatory compliance failures in Israel or of ExpressVPN products being subject to Israeli regulatory oversight.

Investment, Capital & Financial Exposure

Pre-acquisition scale. Before the Kape acquisition, ExpressVPN was wholly owned through Access Global Limited, a holding vehicle controlled by co-founders Peter Burchhardt and Dan Pomerantz and their families.⁷ The company’s revenue grew from approximately $203.9 million (2019) to approximately $279 million (2020), with a 37% year-on-year growth rate and 2020 adjusted EBITDA of $75 million.⁸ At the time of acquisition the service had over four million active users.⁹

The 2021 Kape acquisition. On 13 September 2021 Kape Technologies plc announced a binding agreement to acquire the ExpressVPN business from Access Global Limited for a total consideration of approximately US $936 million.⁷ The structure comprised: (i) US $354 million in cash; (ii) approximately US $237 million in newly issued Kape ordinary shares (47,782,800 shares) delivered to the co-founders and their families; and (iii) US $345 million in deferred cash payable in two equal instalments at 12 and 24 months post-completion.⁷ The co-founders thereby became holders of approximately a 14% stake in Kape Technologies at completion.¹⁰ The acquisition closed in Q4 2021.¹¹

Kape group financials post-acquisition. In fiscal year 2022 - the first full year with ExpressVPN consolidated - Kape Technologies reported group revenue of US $623.5 million, up 170.3% year-on-year (or 18.9% on a proforma organic basis), with pro-forma adjusted EBITDA of US $176 million.¹² The subscriber base grew to approximately 7.4 million paying customers, a 12% increase driven substantially by ExpressVPN.¹² The company reported synergies from the ExpressVPN integration of approximately US $9 million in 2022, targeting US $30 million annualised.¹²

Because Kape was a listed company prior to May 2023 these figures are sourced from regulatory announcements; post-privatisation no public consolidated accounts for Kape or for ExpressVPN individually are published.

No public evidence identified of ExpressVPN holding direct investments in Israeli companies or maintaining Israeli-market financial positions on its own account.

Operational Presence & Market Activity

ExpressVPN’s headquarters and primary legal domicile is Tortola, British Virgin Islands.⁶ The company markets and sells its VPN subscription globally (over 180 countries), with approximately 40% of its user base in North America and roughly 2.5 million users in the United States.¹³ Total app downloads on Google Play exceeded 50 million.¹³

ExpressVPN maintains an OEM market presence through its pre-installation partnerships with HP, Dynabook, and HMD Global noted above.²³⁴

Israel-based roles. LinkedIn job postings identified in June 2026 list ExpressVPN positions based in Tel Aviv-Yafo, including a Product Growth Designer and Mobile App Growth Lead posted to the Israeli market.¹⁴ This indicates ExpressVPN personnel operating under Kape’s Tel Aviv infrastructure. Kape’s consolidated Israel workforce - which services ExpressVPN alongside other Kape brands - was reported in 2021 at approximately 100 employees at the Azrieli Sarona Tower in Tel Aviv, with plans to add a further 40 R&D staff.¹⁵ Attribution of individual headcount exclusively to ExpressVPN versus other Kape brands is not possible from public sources.

No public evidence identified of ExpressVPN maintaining an independent registered branch office or standalone legal entity in Israel.

Corporate Structure & Foundational Ties

This section documents the ownership chain as the central economic fact about ExpressVPN’s Israel nexus.

ExpressVPN’s own legal structure. ExpressVPN is operated through Express Technologies Ltd., incorporated in the British Virgin Islands.⁶ The business was founded in 2009 by Peter Burchhardt and Dan Pomerantz, both Wharton School alumni; neither founder has documented Israeli ties.⁹ Prior to the 2021 acquisition the business was held through Access Global Limited, a BVI-domiciled vehicle controlled by the founders and their families.⁷

Kape Technologies plc - the acquiring entity. Kape Technologies plc (formerly Crossrider Ltd.) is the direct parent of ExpressVPN as of Q4 2021.¹¹ Crossrider was founded in Israel in 2011 by Shmuel Achdut and Koby Menachemi, initially developing a browser-extension SDK.¹⁶ In late 2012, Israeli businessman Teddy Sagi acquired Crossrider for US $37 million.¹⁶ The company listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange and rebranded as Kape Technologies plc in March 2018 following its pivot to consumer cybersecurity.¹⁶ Kape’s registered office is in Douglas, Isle of Man, with principal operating offices in Camden Town, London.¹⁷ Kape’s R&D centre has been located in the Azrieli Sarona Tower, Tel Aviv.¹⁸

Kape’s CEO background. Kape Technologies CEO Ido Erlichman, who led the ExpressVPN acquisition, is an Israeli national who served as a captain in the Duvdevan elite commando unit of the IDF.¹⁵ He joined Kape in 2016 and previously worked with the Israeli Ministry of Finance and at KPMG’s Israel transaction services practice.¹⁹ Company co-founder Koby Menachemi is reported to have begun his technology career as a developer in Israeli military intelligence Unit 8200.²⁰

Unikmind / Teddy Sagi - the ultimate beneficial owner. As of May 2023 Kape Technologies (and therefore ExpressVPN) is wholly owned by Unikmind Holdings Limited, itself wholly owned by Teddy Sagi.²¹ Unikmind was incorporated in the BVI in March 2014 and re-domiciled to the Isle of Man in January 2019.²¹ Prior to the take-private, Unikmind already held approximately 70% of Kape’s issued share capital, reaching 98.54% acceptance by 19 May 2023.²¹ The Unikmind cash offer valued Kape’s equity at approximately US $1.58 billion.²¹ Kape was delisted from AIM on 31 May 2023.²¹ Teddy Sagi is an Israeli national and billionaire, resident in London and Dubai, with documented personal, philanthropic, and investment ties to Israel.²²

The revenue chain is therefore: ExpressVPN subscriber payments → Express Technologies Ltd. (BVI) → Kape Technologies plc (Isle of Man / London) → Unikmind Holdings Ltd. (Isle of Man) → Teddy Sagi (Israeli national).

Profit Repatriation & Economic Contribution

ExpressVPN’s subscription revenue - approximately US $279 million in 2020 pre-acquisition, and a major component of Kape’s US $623.5 million group revenue in 2022 - ultimately flows upstream through Kape Technologies to its sole owner Unikmind Holdings and Teddy Sagi.¹²⁸

Teddy Sagi is an Israeli national who has documented personal financial ties to Israel. In 2019 Sagi reportedly donated US $3 million for scholarships for discharged IDF soldiers.²⁰ In 2023, during Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, Sagi reportedly donated NIS 1 million (approximately US $270,000) to transport IDF soldiers to and from the front lines.²³ These donations are actions of Sagi as an individual and are noted here as contextual evidence of the channel through which ExpressVPN profits ultimately flow; they are not attributable to ExpressVPN’s own corporate conduct.

Kape’s Israeli R&D centre, which services the ExpressVPN product among others, generates taxable employment income and corporate tax contributions within Israel at the Kape subsidiary level.¹⁵¹⁸ The scale of Israel-sourced taxable profit attributable specifically to ExpressVPN’s business (as opposed to other Kape brands sharing the same infrastructure) is not determinable from public sources.

No public evidence identified of ExpressVPN itself making direct charitable, political, or financial contributions to Israeli institutions, government bodies, or military-linked organisations. The profit repatriation nexus operates entirely through the Kape–Unikmind–Sagi ownership chain.

End Notes