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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteZeroTier, a California-based networking software company, raised $13.5 million in a Series A round reported on July 26, 2024. Battery Ventures led the round, with Bonfire Ventures, Anorak Ventures, Grand Enterprises B.V., Airbridge Equity Partners, and First In Ventures also participating. This is a historical event, not a 2026 announcement, and the public reporting does not disclose a valuation or a detailed plan for how the money will be spent.
The round at a glance
TechCrunch reported the Series A on July 26, 2024. The figures below come from that report unless noted otherwise.
| Item | What was reported | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| Round size | $13.5 million | TechCrunch, July 26, 2024 |
| Round type | Series A | TechCrunch, July 26, 2024 |
| Lead investor | Battery Ventures | TechCrunch, July 26, 2024 |
| Other named participants | Bonfire Ventures, Anorak Ventures, Grand Enterprises B.V., Airbridge Equity Partners, First In Ventures | TechCrunch, July 26, 2024 |
| Valuation | Not stated in the reporting | TechCrunch, July 26, 2024 |
| Use of proceeds | No detailed allocation stated in the reporting | TechCrunch, July 26, 2024 |
The round is described as a financing for a software company that connects distributed devices and networks. It is not a consumer product launch, and nothing in the reporting asks readers to buy anything.
How this round fits ZeroTier’s funding history
The Series A was not ZeroTier’s first outside financing, and it is easy to mix up the earlier amounts. The company’s own history page gives the following sequence.
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- Dual band router upgrades to 1200 Mbps high speed internet (300mbps for 2.4GHz plus 900Mbps for 5GHz), reducing buffering and ideal for 4K stream
- Full Gigabit Ports - Gigabit Router with 4 Gigabit LAN ports, ideal for any internet plan and allow you to directly connect your wired devices
- Boosted Coverage - Four external antennas equipped with Beamforming technology extend and concentrate the Wi-Fi signals
- MU-MIMO technology - (5GHz band) allows high speeds for multiple devices simultaneously
- Access Point Mode - Supports AP Mode to transform your wired connection into wireless network, an ideal wireless router for home
| Year | Event | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Anorak became ZeroTier’s first formal investor | Not stated | Company history page |
| February 2021 | Round co-led by Anorak Ventures and Bonfire Ventures | $2 million | Official company announcement, 2021 |
| July 2024 | Series A led by Battery Ventures | $13.5 million | TechCrunch, July 26, 2024 |
The $2 million figure belongs to the 2021 round, not the Series A. The company history also names Anorak Ventures, Bonfire Ventures, and Battery Ventures as the leaders of the Series A period, which makes the investor overlap across rounds a useful pattern to note: two of the 2024 participants had backed the company years earlier.
What ZeroTier sells
ZeroTier builds networking software that connects devices, applications, and services securely regardless of where they physically sit. Its 2021 official release lists the following use cases:
Rank #2
- 【Five Gigabit Ports】1 Gigabit WAN Port plus 2 Gigabit WAN/LAN Ports plus 2 Gigabit LAN Port. Up to 3 WAN ports optimize bandwidth usage through one device.
- 【One USB WAN Port】Mobile broadband via 4G/3G modem is supported for WAN backup by connecting to the USB port. For complete list of compatible 4G/3G modems, please visit TP-Link website.
- 【Abundant Security Features】Advanced firewall policies, DoS defense, IP/MAC/URL filtering, speed test and more security functions protect your network and data.
- 【Highly Secure VPN】Supports up to 20× LAN-to-LAN IPsec, 16× OpenVPN, 16× L2TP, and 16× PPTP VPN connections.
- Security - SPI Firewall, VPN Pass through, FTP/H.323/PPTP/SIP/IPsec ALG, DoS Defence, Ping of Death and Local Management. Standards and Protocols IEEE 802.3, 802.3u, 802.3ab, IEEE 802.3x, IEEE 802.1q
- VPN connectivity
- Multi-cloud and hybrid-cloud networking
- SD-WAN
- Peer-to-peer networking
- IoT remote access
The company’s current about page describes a path from an open-source project to a platform used by millions. It says the founder started the project after encountering slow, manual networking on a U.S. government project. Those are company-authored statements about its own history.
At the time of the Series A, TechCrunch characterized the company’s focus as device-centric networking, particularly routers and sensors rather than servers and laptops. That focus matters for the investment thesis because it places ZeroTier in the connectivity layer for hardware and sensor fleets, not in end-user consumer networking.
Rank #3
- Dual-band Wi-Fi with 5 GHz speeds up to 867 Mbps and 2.4 GHz speeds up to 300 Mbps, delivering 1200 Mbps of total bandwidth¹. Dual-band routers do not support 6 GHz. Performance varies by conditions, distance to devices, and obstacles such as walls.
- Covers up to 1,000 sq. ft. with four external antennas for stable wireless connections and optimal coverage.
- Supports IGMP Proxy/Snooping, Bridge and Tag VLAN to optimize IPTV streaming
- Access Point Mode - Supports AP Mode to transform your wired connection into wireless network, an ideal wireless router for home
- Advanced Security with WPA3 - The latest Wi-Fi security protocol, WPA3, brings new capabilities to improve cybersecurity in personal networks
Company-reported scale
TechCrunch reported the following figures, which ZeroTier provided. They are company claims, not independently verified measurements:
- More than 3 million connected devices
- 600,000 network administrators
- Reach in more than 230 countries and territories
CEO Andrew Gault also gave an industry estimate to TechCrunch, which should be read as his attributed view rather than a forecast verified elsewhere:
Rank #4
- DUAL-BAND WIFI 6 ROUTER: Wi-Fi 6(802.11ax) technology achieves faster speeds, greater capacity and reduced network congestion compared to the previous gen. All WiFi routers require a separate modem. Dual-Band WiFi routers do not support the 6 GHz band.
- AX1800: Enjoy smoother and more stable streaming, gaming, downloading with 1.8 Gbps total bandwidth (up to 1200 Mbps on 5 GHz and up to 574 Mbps on 2.4 GHz). Performance varies by conditions, distance to devices, and obstacles such as walls.
- CONNECT MORE DEVICES: Wi-Fi 6 technology communicates more data to more devices simultaneously using revolutionary OFDMA technology
- EXTENSIVE COVERAGE: Achieve the strong, reliable WiFi coverage with Archer AX1800 as it focuses signal strength to your devices far away using Beamforming technology, 4 high-gain antennas and an advanced front-end module (FEM) chipset
- OUR CYBERSECURITY COMMITMENT: TP-Link is a signatory of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) Secure-by-Design pledge. This device is designed, built, and maintained, with advanced security as a core requirement.
“I think our niche in the market is much more device-centric, but less servers and laptops, and more routers and sensors. There are 18 billion devices online today, expected to grow to 32 billion by 2030, but secure connectivity is a bit of an unsolved problem. We create secure connections between all these devices and have them just talking away as if they’re on a local network in your office. It’s that space I want to go after.”
The company’s 2021 announcement also carries a mission statement from founder Adam Ierymenko: “ZeroTier was founded to realize the Internet’s true potential as a connectivity platform. Our mission is to directly connect the world’s devices, radically simplify networking, and enable a new generation of private, secure, and scalable networking applications.”
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Best Value
- Next-Gen Gigabit Wi-Fi 6 Speeds: 2402 Mbps on 5 GHz and 574 Mbps on 2.4 GHz bands ensure smoother streaming and faster downloads; support VPN server and VPN client¹
- A More Responsive Experience: Enjoy smooth gaming, video streaming, and live feeds simultaneously. OFDMA makes your Wi-Fi stronger by allowing multiple clients to share one band at the same time, cutting latency and jitter.²
- Expanded Wi-Fi Coverage: 4 high-gain external antennas and Beamforming technology combine to extend strong, reliable, Wi-Fi throughout your home.
- Improved Battery Life: Target Wake Time helps your devices to communicate efficiently while consuming less power.
- Improved Cooling Design: No heat ups, no throttles. A larger heat sink and redefined case design cools the WiFi 6 system and enables your network to stay at top speeds in more versatile environments.
Leadership
TechCrunch reported that Andrew Gault became CEO in May 2024, and that founder Adam Ierymenko moved into the CTO role to concentrate on the technology. ZeroTier’s current about page lists Gault as CEO and Ierymenko as CTO, so the leadership arrangement reported in 2024 still appears on the company’s site.
What the announcement does not tell you
Readers evaluating a startup financing should be clear about the gaps. The public reporting does not establish:
- The company’s valuation, which determines how much ownership the new money bought
- How the $13.5 million will be allocated across engineering, sales, or operations
- Revenue, profitability, or customer retention figures
- Whether any investor’s terms, such as liquidation preferences, were disclosed
Without those details, the round tells you that experienced investors committed capital to the company at a specific point in 2024. It does not tell you whether the company has reached a financially sustainable position.
How to read a funding headline like this one
Funding news is useful for understanding a company’s direction, but it is a weak signal on its own. When you encounter a similar announcement, check the following:
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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →- The date. A round reported in July 2024 reflects conditions and disclosures from that period, and later filings or statements may differ.
- Who is attributing each figure. Company claims about devices, users, or reach are different from measured data.
- Whether the round is the one you think it is. Earlier and later rounds are often reported in the same coverage.
- Whether the valuation and use of proceeds appear anywhere. If not, avoid inferring them from the amount raised.
- Whether the company is private. A private company’s funding does not give retail readers a way to buy shares through the announcement itself.
For ZeroTier, the Series A is a dated, sourced milestone. The company’s own history, its named investors, and its stated focus on device connectivity are the solid parts of the story. The scale figures and the 18-billion-device outlook are the parts that carry the most attribution risk.
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