SoftEther Corporation
A Japanese software company established to develop and commercialize SoftEther VPN and related virtual private networking technologies.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
SoftEther Corporation is a Japanese software company associated with the development of SoftEther VPN and a broader family of virtual private network products. It emerged in April 2004 from an industry–academia–government collaboration involving students at the University of Tsukuba. The company was created around the work of Daiyu Nobori, whose earlier SoftEther software sought to emulate Ethernet in software and provide flexible network connectivity across different environments. The project had received support through Japan’s Information Technology Promotion Agency Exploratory Youth program in 2003. Its early public release attracted substantial attention, reportedly reaching one million downloads within three months. This early adoption helped establish the technology as a notable Japanese networking-software project before the company’s commercial product line was fully developed. SoftEther’s product history spans open-source and commercial VPN implementations. Mitsubishi Materials Corporation released the first sales version, SoftEther CA, in August 2004. A subsequent generation was renamed PacketiX VPN 2.0 and released in December 2005, reflecting the transition from the original SoftEther product name toward a commercial networking platform. PacketiX VPN 2.0 later received a Software of the Year award in Japan in 2006. SoftEther Corporation continued the PacketiX line with version 3.0 in March 2010 and version 4.0 in July 2013, adding or expanding capabilities such as IPv6, IEEE 802.1Q VLAN support, TLS support, and compatibility with earlier releases. The company also worked with the University of Tsukuba on UT-VPN, an open-source VPN implementation released in June 2010. UT-VPN was based on the PacketiX VPN 3.0 codebase and was designed to remain compatible with parts of the commercial PacketiX ecosystem, although some commercial functions were not included. In July 2013, the SoftEther VPN project released a new open-source implementation based on PacketiX VPN 4.0 and developed in cooperation with SoftEther Corporation and the University of Tsukuba. Its source code was subsequently released under the GNU General Public License version 2 on January 4, 2014. SoftEther VPN is also associated with VPN Gate, an academic experimental project that uses the SoftEther VPN engine. Through this relationship, the company’s technology became connected not only with enterprise remote access and site-to-site networking, but also with experimentation involving volunteer VPN servers and alternative network paths. The available reference material does not establish a complete current corporate profile, including present headquarters, ownership, executive roster, financial performance, or active commercial status. Accordingly, SoftEther Corporation is best documented as a Japanese networking-software company whose historically identifiable role centers on the creation and evolution of SoftEther, PacketiX, UT-VPN, and SoftEther VPN.
History
SoftEther Corporation was established in April 2004 as an industry, academic, and government-linked venture involving students from the University of Tsukuba. Its formation followed the development of SoftEther, a VPN program written by Daiyu Nobori. The name referred to the software’s concept of emulating Ethernet in software. Before the company was formed, the project had been selected in 2003 for the Exploratory Youth program sponsored by Japan’s Information Technology Promotion Agency. The project’s early public distribution reportedly generated one million downloads in three months, giving it visibility beyond the university environment. The company’s first identified commercial release was SoftEther CA, introduced by Mitsubishi Materials Corporation in August 2004. The product line then moved toward the PacketiX name: PacketiX VPN 2.0 was released in December 2005 as the successor to SoftEther 2.0. In 2006, PacketiX VPN 2.0 received a Japanese Software of the Year award. SoftEther Corporation later released PacketiX VPN 3.0 in March 2010. This generation added support for capabilities including IPv6, IEEE 802.1Q VLANs, and TLS 1.0 while retaining compatibility with PacketiX VPN 2.0. PacketiX VPN 4.0 followed in July 2013 and expanded protocol support. Alongside its commercial products, SoftEther Corporation developed open-source projects with the University of Tsukuba. UT-VPN was released in June 2010 and was based on PacketiX VPN 3.0. It retained compatibility with aspects of the PacketiX product family, but did not include every commercial feature; the reference material gives the absence of the RADIUS client in UT-VPN Server as one example. In July 2013, the SoftEther VPN project released software based on PacketiX VPN 4.0. The project planned an open-source source-code release, which was announced on January 4, 2014 under the GPLv2 license. SoftEther VPN subsequently served as the underlying VPN engine for VPN Gate, an academic experimental project. This connected SoftEther’s technology with research and experimentation involving distributed VPN access. The available material documents the company’s historical products and institutional relationships but does not provide reliable current information about its ownership, present management beyond the historical identification of Daiyu Nobori, financial performance, headquarters address, or continuing operating status.
- 2014
SoftEther VPN source code published under GPLv2
[1]The project announced the release of its source code under the GNU General Public License version 2.
- 2013
PacketiX VPN 4.0 released
[1]PacketiX VPN 4.0 was released in July with support for additional existing protocols.
- 2013
SoftEther VPN project released
[1]The SoftEther VPN project released a new implementation based on PacketiX VPN 4.0 in cooperation with SoftEther Corporation and the University of Tsukuba.
- 2010
PacketiX VPN 3.0 released
[1]SoftEther Corporation released PacketiX VPN 3.0 with additions including IPv6, 802.1Q VLAN, and TLS 1.0 support.
- 2010
UT-VPN released
[1]SoftEther Corporation and the University of Tsukuba released the open-source UT-VPN project.
- 2006
PacketiX VPN 2.0 receives Software of the Year award
[1]PacketiX VPN 2.0 was recognized with a Software of the Year award from Japan’s Innovation Platform Agency.
- 2005
PacketiX VPN 2.0 released
[1]The second major version was released in December under the PacketiX VPN name rather than SoftEther 2.0.
- 2004
SoftEther Corporation founded
[1]The company was established in April as an industry–academia–government venture involving University of Tsukuba students.
- 2004
SoftEther CA commercial release
[1]Mitsubishi Materials Corporation released SoftEther CA, identified as the first sales version of the technology.
- 2003
SoftEther project selected for the Exploratory Youth program
[1]The Information Technology Promotion Agency in Japan selected the SoftEther development project for its Exploratory Youth program.
Products and positioning
Networking-software developer focused on flexible, multi-protocol VPN connectivity, with both commercial PacketiX products and open-source projects connected to the University of Tsukuba.
VPN software
SoftEther
The original VPN software developed by Daiyu Nobori. SoftEther was designed to emulate Ethernet in software and became the technical foundation for later commercial and open-source product generations associated with the company.
Commercial VPN software · 2005
PacketiX VPN
The commercial VPN product family that followed the original SoftEther naming. PacketiX VPN 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0 provided successive generations of virtual networking functionality, including support for IPv6, VLAN technologies, TLS, and additional protocols.
Open-source VPN software · 2010
UT-VPN
An open-source VPN project developed by SoftEther Corporation and the University of Tsukuba. UT-VPN was derived from PacketiX VPN 3.0 and maintained compatibility with parts of the PacketiX product family, while omitting some commercial functions.
Open-source multi-protocol VPN software · 2013
SoftEther VPN
An open-source VPN implementation developed through the SoftEther VPN project with participation from SoftEther Corporation and the University of Tsukuba. It was based on PacketiX VPN 4.0 and later released under GPLv2. The software is also used as the VPN engine for VPN Gate.
Brand decisions
2014
Release SoftEther VPN source code under GPLv2StrategyBackground
The SoftEther VPN project had been developed as an open-source-oriented successor based on PacketiX VPN 4.0.
Action taken
Publish the source code under the GNU General Public License version 2.
Aftermath
SoftEther VPN became available as open-source software and continued as the underlying engine for the VPN Gate academic experiment.
2010
Pursue an open-source VPN project with the University of TsukubaStrategyBackground
The company maintained a commercial VPN line while collaborating with the university on an open-source implementation.
Action taken
Release UT-VPN, based on PacketiX VPN 3.0, with a reduced feature set and compatibility with parts of the commercial platform.
Aftermath
The collaboration was followed by the SoftEther VPN project and later publication of source code under GPLv2.
2005
Adopt the PacketiX VPN product nameGeneration changeBackground
The second major generation followed the original SoftEther 2.0 product and was presented under a new commercial product name.
Action taken
Release PacketiX VPN 2.0 in December 2005.
Aftermath
The PacketiX name continued through later commercial generations and was associated with the company’s commercial VPN platform.
Recent events
- 2014
SoftEther VPN source code released under GPLv2[1]
Product launch
The SoftEther VPN project announced the public release of its source code under the GNU General Public License version 2, formalizing its open-source distribution.
- 2013
SoftEther VPN 4.0 released[1]
Product generation · Product launch
SoftEther Corporation released SoftEther VPN 4.0, based on the PacketiX VPN 4.0 generation and incorporating additional protocol support.
- 2010
UT-VPN open-source project released[1]
Product launch
SoftEther Corporation and the University of Tsukuba released UT-VPN, an open-source VPN implementation derived from PacketiX VPN 3.0.
Sources1 sources
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