History
NordVPN was established in 2012 by a group of childhood friends, with Eimantas Sabaliauskas and Tomas Okmanas at the helm.[14] It presented an Android app in late May 2016, followed by an iOS app in June of the same year.[15] In October 2017, it launched a browser extension for Google Chrome.[16] The service launched applications for Android TV in 2018[17] and tvOS in 2023.[11] As of January 2026, NordVPN operates 8,000+ servers covering 178 countries.[18][19]
In March 2019, it was reported that NordVPN received a directive from Russian authorities to join a state-sponsored registry of banned websites, which would prevent Russian NordVPN users from circumventing state censorship. NordVPN was reportedly given one month to comply, or face blocking by Russian authorities.[20] The provider declined to comply with the request and shut down its Russian servers on April 1.
In September 2019, NordVPN announced NordVPN Teams, a VPN solution aimed at small and medium businesses, remote teams, and freelancers who need secure access to work resources.[21] Two years later, NordVPN Teams rebranded as NordLayer and moved toward SASE business solutions.[22][23]
On October 29, 2019, NordVPN announced additional audits and a public bug bounty program.[24] The bug bounty was launched in December 2019, offering researchers monetary rewards for reporting critical flaws in the service.[25]
In December 2019, NordVPN became one of the five founding members of the newly formed VPN Trust Initiative, promising to promote online security as well as more self-regulation and transparency in the industry.[26] In 2020, the initiative announced five key areas of focus: security, privacy, advertising practices, disclosure and transparency, and social responsibility.[27]
In August 2020, Troy Hunt, an Australian web security expert and founder of Have I Been Pwned?, announced a partnership with NordVPN as a strategic advisor.[28]
In 2022, NordVPN closed its physical servers in India in response to the CERT-In's order for VPN companies to store consumers' personal data for a period of five years.[29]
In April 2022, NordVPN's parent company Nord Security raised $100 million in a round of funding led by Novator. The company's valuation reached $1.6 billion.[30] In September 2023, the company grew and raised more funding, making it valued at $3 billion.[31]
In 2022, Surfshark and Nord Security merged under one holding company.[32]
In July 2024, at the request of Roskomnadzor, Apple removed NordVPN from the Russian App Store.[33][34] The company later confirmed that it had fully exited the Russian market.[35]
As of 2026, Nord Security reported having over 20 million users across its products,[36] while NordVPN accounted for approximately 15 million users.[30]
