What Keybase does

Keybase is a New York-based software company founded in 2014 that built an end-to-end encrypted communications and collaboration platform. Its core product stack centers on public-key cryptography and includes secure 1:1 and group messaging, the KBFS encrypted filesystem (mounted as a virtual /keybase directory with up to 250GB per user), Keybase Teams with subteams and signature-chain role verification supporting up to 1,000 members, encrypted Git repositories, a built-in Stellar cryptocurrency wallet, Keybase Sites for static hosting, and Saltpack encryption utilities. Identity is anchored through Merkle tree public keys whose roots are written to the Bitcoin blockchain, with optional identity proofs linking Keybase accounts to Twitter, Reddit, GitHub, Facebook, and Hacker News profiles. The platform is multi-platform (macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, Tor) and open source under a permissive license with public code on GitHub.

Keybase was co-founded by Chris Coyne and Max Krohn, both previously co-founders of OkCupid and SparkNotes, with Krohn holding a PhD from MIT CSAIL (2008). The company raised a single $10.8M Series A round led by Andreessen Horowitz with Corazon Capital in July 2015, then was acquired by Zoom Video Communications in 2020 to bring end-to-end encryption expertise to Zoom's video conferencing platform. Keybase continues to operate as a product under Zoom ownership, with the team now part of Zoom's broader security organization.

The business model is freemium with no paid tiers currently offered: the consumer product is free and ad-free, and the company has publicly indicated only that future monetization may involve paid enterprise team plans. Go-to-market is product-led and community-led, relying on self-serve downloads, app-store distribution, Linux package managers, and organic adoption among developer, crypto, and privacy-conscious communities (e.g., the keybasefriends open team with 17,823+ members). Keybase reports compliance with GDPR and CCPA and publishes security advisories (KB001-KB004) addressing disclosed vulnerabilities.

Name

Keybase

Legal name

Keybase, Inc.

Website

https://keybase.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Keybase provides end-to-end encrypted messaging, file sharing, team collaboration, git hosting, and a Stellar wallet, built on public-key cryptography with Merkle tree identity verification anchored in the Bitcoin blockchain, serving privacy-conscious individuals, developer communities, and small teams.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Encrypted Messaging

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518210)

SIC

Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200)

akta.pro primary industry

Key Management Infrastructure (HSMs, key vaults, MPC/TSS key mgmt, rotation) (FSAPACAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Compliance Identity & KYC/KYB for Wallets (on-chain identity, reusable KYC, travel rule tooling) (FSAPACAL), Decentralized Identity & Verifiable Credentials for Finance (DID/KYC Reuse) (FSAGAMAE), Authentication (MFA/Passwordless/Biometrics) Platforms (BPAMAEAE)

Keywords

• Encrypted messaging
• Encrypted file sharing
• Team collaboration
• Encrypted git hosting
• Cryptographic key verification

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Free Consumer Product: Keybase is currently free for all users with no ads. The product is open source and available at no cost. Potential future revenue may come from enterprise team tiers as mentioned in historical blog posts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Keybase is an end-to-end encrypted communication and collaboration platform offering secure messaging, file sharing, and team workspaces. The product is built on public key cryptography with Merkle tree key verification anchored in the Bitcoin blockchain, ensuring that even Keybase cannot read user data. It includes chat, encrypted cloud storage (KBFS), team collaboration, encrypted git repositories, a Stellar cryptocurrency wallet, and identity proofs across social platforms, all distributed as free, open-source software across desktop, mobile, and Linux.

Product overview

Keybase is a unified secure messaging and productivity platform built around end-to-end encryption. The core Keybase platform provides encrypted chat, file sharing, and team collaboration. Supporting modules include KBFS (encrypted cloud filesystem), Keybase Wallet (Stellar cryptocurrency), Keybase Git (private repositories), Keybase Sites (website hosting), and Keybase Tools (encryption utilities). The product also supports exploding messages with self-destruct timers and integrates with external identity platforms (Twitter, Reddit, GitHub, Facebook, Hacker News) for seamless encrypted communication across networks.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Keybase Chat End-to-end encrypted messaging service for individuals and teams, enabling secure communication with any Twitter, Reddit, Facebook, GitHub, or Hacker News user. Supports exploding/self-destructing messages and team channels.
• Keybase Files Encrypted cloud storage service for photos, videos, and documents, with files encrypted client-side before upload and shareable with individuals or teams.
• Keybase Teams End-to-end encrypted team collaboration spaces with flexible membership, signature chains for role verification, subteams, and invite-by-email functionality, supporting up to 1,000 members per team.
• KBFS (Keybase File System) Encrypted filesystem accessible via the /keybase directory on desktop, providing cloud storage with client-side encryption for files synced across devices.
• Keybase Sites Allows users to build and host simple websites on Keybase's infrastructure with end-to-end encryption.
• Keybase Wallet Built-in Stellar cryptocurrency wallet that lets users send, receive, and exchange Stellar Lumens (XLM) directly within the Keybase application.
• Keybase Git Private encrypted Git repositories synchronized between devices, allowing users to create and share version-controlled code repositories securely.
• Keybase Tools Cryptographic utilities including encrypt, decrypt, sign, and verify functions for messages and files using Keybase's public key infrastructure and Saltpack format.

Quantifiable outcome

• Users can send encrypted messages to any Twitter, Reddit, Facebook, GitHub, or Hacker News user without requiring them to have a Keybase account
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Zoom Video CommunicationscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Keybase was acquired by Zoom in 2020. The Keybase team joined Zoom to bring end-to-end encryption capabilities to Zoom's video conferencing platform. Keybase continues to operate as a product while contributing security expertise to Zoom.
• Stellar Development FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Stellar Development Foundation supported Keybase by enabling Stellar wallets for all Keybase users, integrating Stellar cryptocurrency functionality into the Keybase platform.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Element (Matrix): Element is the commercial steward of the open-source Matrix protocol, offering end-to-end encrypted messaging, team collaboration, and federation. It targets similar developer and privacy-conscious communities with open-source and self-hosting capabilities.
• Wire: Wire provides end-to-end encrypted messaging, file sharing, and team collaboration — directly mirroring Keybase's product surface. It targets both consumers and enterprises with paid team plans, similar to Keybase's potential enterprise trajectory.
• Wickr: Wickr offered end-to-end encrypted messaging before being acquired by AWS in 2021. It is a near-analog of Keybase's trajectory (encrypted messaging startup acquired by large strategic), serving enterprise and government regulated-communications use cases.
• Signal: Signal is a non-profit encrypted messaging app with comparable end-to-end encryption for chat, voice, and video. It is the closest direct peer in the consumer privacy-messaging category, with a similar free-to-use, no-ads, open-source philosophy.

Emerging players

• Sync.com: Sync.com offers end-to-end encrypted cloud storage and file sharing targeted at consumers and small teams. It directly competes with KBFS for privacy-focused file storage users.
• Tresorit: Tresorit offers end-to-end encrypted cloud storage and file sharing, directly comparable to Keybase's KBFS. It targets professionals and teams needing secure document collaboration with paid plans.
• SpiderOak: SpiderOak provides zero-knowledge encrypted backup, sync, and file sharing for enterprise and government. Its "zero-knowledge" architecture mirrors Keybase's server-cannot-read positioning in the encrypted-storage space.

Broad incumbents

• Telegram: Telegram is a major messaging platform with optional end-to-end encryption (Secret Chats). It competes for the same broad user base as Keybase and dwarfs it in scale and resources, making it a broad incumbent in the secure-messaging space.
• 1Password: 1Password manages cryptographic keys and secrets for individuals and teams. While focused on password/credential management rather than messaging, it shares the underlying cryptography/key-management discipline that defines Keybase.
• Bitwarden: Bitwarden is an open-source password and secrets manager with a similar open-source, end-to-end encrypted, self-hostable philosophy to Keybase. It serves the same privacy-conscious developer and individual user base.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/keybaseio
• GitHubgithub.com/keybase/client

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors2 records

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Keybase