What Tesonet does

Tesonet is a Lithuanian venture builder and founders' office that creates, invests in, and scales global technology products. Founded by Tomas Okmanas and Eimantas Sabaliauskas, the group operates 50+ ventures supported by 4,200+ employees across 100+ countries and holds 500+ patents across the portfolio. The operating model combines internal incubation, acquisitions, and growth-stage minority investments, with shared infrastructure in talent, legal, finance, and technology that allows new ventures to launch with lower marginal cost than standalone startups.

The core operating subsidiaries span consumer cybersecurity (Nord Security, Surfshark), web intelligence infrastructure (Oxylabs), web hosting (Hostinger), AI orchestration (Nexos.ai), media (Mediatech), healthcare technology (CyberCare), and professional sports (London Lions). Beyond these, Tesonet maintains a minority investment portfolio across fintech (Finbee, Artea Bank), AI tooling (Lovable, CastAI, Frame Security, PollyAPI, LizzyAI), developer education (Turing College), gaming (Eneba), and analytics (Trendos).

Revenue mechanics operate at two levels: Tesonet as the parent captures value through equity ownership in operating subsidiaries and minority investments, while the underlying portfolio companies monetize via SaaS subscriptions (NordVPN, Surfshark, Hostinger), API and data consumption (Oxylabs, Nexos.ai), advertising and media (Mediatech), and ticket/sponsorship revenue (London Lions). Capital allocation since 2024 has tilted aggressively toward AI infrastructure and applications via the Generation AI initiative and concentrated investments in companies such as Lovable, Frame Security, and Nexos.ai.

Name

Tesonet

Legal name

Tesonet Global, UAB

Website

https://tesonet.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Tesonet is a Lithuanian venture builder that creates, scales, and invests in global technology products through 50+ ventures spanning cybersecurity, web infrastructure, AI, fintech, media, and sports, operating across 100+ countries with 4,200+ employees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Building and Technology Investment

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities (523)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Strategic Partnership & Ecosystem Investment Arms (FSANAHAF)

Keywords

• Venture builder services
• Startup scaling
• Technology investment
• Cybersecurity products
• AI infrastructure platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Vilnius

HQ country

Lithuania

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Returns: Returns from portfolio company equity, exits through acquisitions or IPOs
2. Strategic Consulting and Operational Support: Revenue generation through hands-on support in product development, growth strategy, hiring, legal, finance, and procurement for portfolio companies

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Tesonet is a founder-led venture builder that creates, funds, and scales global technology businesses, deploying capital (from late seed to full acquisitions) and hands-on operational expertise in product, growth, hiring, legal, finance, and procurement to 50+ ventures across cybersecurity, AI, SaaS, hosting, fintech, media, and sports. Its portfolio includes founded companies such as Nord Security, Surfshark, Oxylabs, nexos.ai, Mediatech, CyberCare, and SpringWater, plus equity investments in Hostinger, Lovable, CastAI, Eneba, Artea Bank, Finbee, Trendos, and others, supported by an ecosystem of 4,200+ worldwide talents.

Product overview

Tesonet operates as a venture builder led by a founders' office, creating and investing in global products across cybersecurity, AI infrastructure, SaaS, digital infrastructure, and sports tech. The core offering is the Tesonet venture builder platform itself, which provides capital, strategic guidance, and operational expertise to 50+ ventures supported by 4,200+ worldwide talents. Key founded companies include Nord Security (cybersecurity products: NordVPN, NordLayer, NordLocker, NordStellar, Coveron, Saily), Surfshark (VPN and data privacy), Oxylabs (web intelligence and data acquisition), nexos.ai (AI orchestration platform for enterprise with secure Workspace and AI Gateway), Mediatech (media and digital content), CyberCare (AI-powered customer care), and SpringWater (SaaS ecosystem). Investment portfolio spans AI companies (Lovable, Ace Waves, Vibe, LizzyAI, Wonderful), infrastructure tools (Hostinger, CastAI, Webshare, PollyAPI), financial services (Artea Bank, Finbee), media (15min Groupė, Eneba), and sports/entertainment (London Lions, BC Žalgiris Kaunas). Tesonet Foundation manages strategic giving across education, resilience, and athletics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Tesonet Foundation: The company's charitable foundation focusing on education, resilience, and athlete empowerment initiatives.
• Generation AI

Products and services

• Tesonet Venture Builder Founder-led venture builder platform that creates, funds, and scales global technology businesses, deploying flexible capital from late seed through full acquisitions and providing hands-on operational support in product, growth, hiring, legal, finance, and procurement to a portfolio of 50+ ventures.
• Nord Security (NordVPN, NordLayer, NordLocker, NordStellar, Saily, Coveron) Suite of consumer and business cybersecurity and privacy products, including VPN (NordVPN, NordLayer), encrypted storage (NordLocker), threat exposure management (NordStellar), eSIM (Saily), and insurance (Coveron), for individuals and organizations seeking online security, privacy, and data control.
• Surfshark Consumer-facing security and privacy products, including a VPN service and the Incogni data removal tool, designed to make online privacy accessible to everyone.
• Oxylabs
• nexos.ai
• Mediatech (CyberNews, Investors, CTZn, Banzai)
• CyberCare
• SpringWater
• Hostinger
• Trendos
• Lovable
• CastAI
• Eneba
• Decodo
• Artea Bank
• Finbee
• London Lions Basketball Club
• Whatagraph SaaS marketing reporting platform that simplifies cross-channel marketing data intelligence, performance visualization, and reporting for agencies and in-house marketing teams.
• Turing College Online tech school offering mentorship-driven curricula in software engineering and tech disciplines, providing cohort-based education and career support.
• Ace Waves
• Vibe
• Wonderful.ai
• LizzyAI
• Frame Security
• Cube3 AI-driven cybersecurity platform for financial services, positioned as the first line of defense against fraud and scams, applying AI to detect and prevent fraudulent transactions.
• BC Žalgiris Kaunas
• 15min Grupė One of the largest media and digital business groups in Lithuania, operating across media, marketing, and advertising properties serving a broad Lithuanian audience.
• FirstPick Fund
• MISHKAY
• FPRO

Quantifiable outcome

• 50+ self-sustaining businesses built
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability9 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• nexos.aicoreOthers · 16 October 2025nexos.ai, a Tesonet brand, raised €30M Series A funding. Tesonet leverages over a decade of experience building secure, scalable technology infrastructure. Platform helps enterprises adopt AI safely with unified control over 200+ AI models.
• Žalgiris GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 August 2024Žalgiris Group, owner of EuroLeague club Zalgiris Kaunas, facilitated Tesonet's acquisition of London Lions basketball club to rescue it from bankruptcy. The partnership involves a short-term loan from Žalgiris to cover early costs and aims to develop basketball talent across both organizations.
• London Lions Basketball ClubcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2024Tesonet acquired the London Lions basketball club following its entry into administration. The acquisition aims to secure the club's financial future, implement sustainability practices, develop young players, and grow the fan base. Collaboration with Žalgiris Kaunas for basketball talent development.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Science Inc: US-based venture builder that creates, launches, and scales technology companies using an operating-playbook approach with hands-on support — directly analogous to Tesonet's founder-first model.
• Idealab: One of the longest-running US venture studios, systematically originating and building technology companies from scratch — comparable to Tesonet's venture builder model with cross-portfolio operational leverage.
• Antler: Global venture builder that partners with founders from day zero to build companies, with a global presence and hands-on operational support comparable to Tesonet's late seed / Series A focus and founder-first approach.
• Rocket Internet: Berlin-based venture builder that founds and scales internet companies globally, with a similar model of operational support plus capital deployment to early-stage startups across multiple verticals.
• Entrepreneur First: Global talent-first investment company that brings individuals together to build startups from scratch — comparable to Tesonet's emphasis on founder development and ecosystem-driven company creation.
• eFounders (now part of Sift): European venture builder (now Sift) co-founded by founders of multiple B2B SaaS companies, similar in model to Tesonet — operating as a founders' office building a global ecosystem of category-leading SaaS products.
• Betaworks: NYC-based venture studio that builds and invests in category-defining companies through a startup-studio approach, similar to Tesonet's ecosystem-based model where portfolio companies benefit from shared talent and infrastructure.

Broad incumbents

• Atomico: Major European VC founded by Skype's Niklas Zennström with similar pan-European, founder-friendly thesis; operates as a broader incumbent fund with overlaps in Baltic/Nordic tech but without the venture-builder operating model.

Emerging players

• Index Ventures: Leading European VC firm that has co-invested with Tesonet in nexos.ai (€30M Series A) and Frame Security ($50M round) — overlapping investment themes but operating as a traditional fund rather than a venture builder.

Regional players

• Bolt: Estonian-founded super-app and one of Europe's largest private tech companies; comparable as a Baltic-origin company that scaled globally and demonstrates the talent/capital ecosystem Tesonet participates in, though focused on mobility/delivery rather than venture building.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tesonet

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Subsidiaries26 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A2 records

Investments19 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Tesonet