kape technologies

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Kape Technologies plc (formerly Crossrider Ltd.) is a British-Israeli company owned by businessman Teddy Sagi. Kape owns the VPN service and cybersecurity companies ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, Private Internet Access, Webselenese and Intego Antivirus. The development center of Kape is located in the Azrieli Sarona Tower in Tel Aviv. Crossrider was founded in 2011 by Smueli Achdut and Koby Menachemi. In late 2012, Israeli businessman Teddy Sagi acquired Crossrider for $37 million. The company went public on AIM at a value of $250 million. In May 2014, it acquired Ajillion for $2.2 million and Definiti Media for at most $12 million. Crossrider’s co-founder, Koby Menachemi, served as a developer in Unit 8200, the Israeli Defence Forces’ signals intelligence unit — Israel’s equivalent of the NSA. Erlichman served in the IDF’s Duvdevan Unit, a special operations formation known for undercover intelligence operations in the occupied Palestinian territories. Unit 8200’s significance extends far beyond Kape. NSO Group, whose Pegasus spyware was used to monitor over 50,000 individuals, including heads of state and journalists, was founded by Unit 8200 alumni — and all Pegasus sales required Israeli government approval. The pipeline functions with remarkable consistency: young Israelis develop elite signals intelligence and cyber-offensive capabilities during military service, then carry that expertise directly into commercial ventures. Parents invest heavily in preparation for Unit 8200 selection, understanding that membership unlocks career opportunities throughout Israel’s technology sector — the unit is widely described as “Israel’s Harvard.” The result is an ecosystem where the boundary between state intelligence capability and private enterprise is porous by design, and where a generation of surveillance professionals populate the leadership ranks of companies selling (anti-) privacy to the world.