In 2012, two childhood friends in Vilnius — Tomas Okmanas and Eimantas Sabaliauskas — founded what would become Nord Security. Initially a modest, bootstrapped venture launched in Lithuania, the company has since grown into one of the most talked-about names in cybersecurity. What began as a focus on online privacy has ballooned into a multi-product security suite, global marketing machine and industry benchmark in trust and scale.
Humble beginnings and disciplined growth
From the start, Nord Security’s story diverged from the classic “VC-funded from day one” trajectory. Operating out of Lithuania, the company reinvested profits into product development and expansion for nearly a decade.
Lithuania provided a unique backdrop to the company’s ascent. With a strong digital infrastructure and a growing engineering talent pool, the nation became more than just the birthplace of Nord—it became a strategic base. According to Invest Lithuania, Nord Security “has built globally-oriented teams with the technical expertise and agility needed to thrive in a fast-changing cybersecurity environment.”
Launching in 2013, the company’s flagship product NordVPN quickly gained traction. But rather than relying on outside capital to fuel growth, Nord focused on reinvesting revenue, building its marketing engine and establishing operational discipline. By 2014 the company was already establishing dedicated marketing, engineering and product teams and forging its international footprint.
Building a trust-worthy brand and expanding the product suite
As Nord’s user base expanded, the company recognized that growth hinged not just on acquisition but on credibility. In 2019, the company disclosed a server incident—the result of a third-party provider’s misconfiguration. Although no user credentials were exposed, the event tested Nord’s claims of privacy and no-logs. The company responded by cutting ties with the provider, migrating to RAM-only servers and commissioning independent audits of its infrastructure.
During this time, Nord also diversified beyond its original VPN offering. The company rolled out business-oriented services such as NordLayer (formerly NordVPN Teams) for enterprise network access, as well as consumer tools like NordPass (password manager) and NordLocker (encrypted cloud storage).
By positioning itself as more than “just a VPN”, Nord Security widened its market reach: from individual privacy seekers to small businesses and ultimately enterprise clients. Meanwhile, its marketing investments grew. One report notes the company spent “hundreds of millions” in global marketing while maintaining profitability.
Taking the leap: funding, consolidation and global scale
After years of self-funding, Nord Security shifted gears. In April 2022, the company raised $100 million in its first external funding round and attained a valuation of approximately $1.6 billion, making it Lithuania’s second tech “unicorn” after Vinted as stated by Lietuvos Radijas ir Televizija.
This infusion of capital was coupled with a strategic merger: in early 2022 Nord joined forces with Surfshark, a fellow privacy-focused company, under the same group, thereby broadening its product ecosystem and global reach.
By September 2023 the scale was even more apparent: Nord Security raised another $100 million and announced a valuation of approximately $3 billion. This leap in valuation underscores how rapidly the company had evolved from a niche player to a major force in cybersecurity.
According to recent data, Nord now employs around 1,700 people across Europe and supports millions of users globally, while being headquartered in Vilnius.
