Swiss secure messaging provider Threema is entering a new chapter in 2026, as investment firm Comitis Capital acquires the company from Afinum Management GmbH and its original founders.
The change in ownership follows a five-year period of growth and modernization under Afinum's stewardship, with Threema now positioning itself for expanded international reach and sustained development in the privacy-first communications space.
Afinum acquired a majority stake in Threema in 2020, coinciding with a pivotal shift in the company's trajectory, where the app's source code was made public, and its protocol stack underwent a significant overhaul to support multi-device functionality. During this period, Threema also solidified its standing as a market leader in enterprise messaging solutions, catering to a broad range of privacy-conscious businesses and organizations. Afinum's typical investment strategy involves supporting early-stage companies through a professionalization phase, with planned exits after five to seven years.
The transition to Comitis Capital, a private equity firm based in Germany, has now been officially announced. Comitis emphasized that the acquisition aligns with its strategy of backing a select group of companies committed to long-term value creation, sustainability, and strong ethical foundations. In the announcement, Comitis Managing Partner Nikolaus Bethlen described Threema as “uniquely positioned” to benefit from surging demand for European data sovereignty, regulatory compliance, and secure digital communication.
Threema, headquartered in Switzerland, operates both consumer- and enterprise-facing platforms. Its mobile and desktop applications are designed around a privacy-by-design philosophy, employing a zero-knowledge architecture, Swiss data jurisdiction, and peer-reviewed proprietary encryption protocols. The platform supports both cloud and on-premise deployments, serving a broad clientele that includes small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), large corporations, and individual users who prioritize confidentiality and metadata protection.
The new ownership will reportedly not alter Threema's product roadmap, leadership, or guiding principles. The existing management team will remain in place, and Comitis has publicly committed to upholding Threema's privacy-focused mission. For end users, no changes are expected in terms of data handling, service operation, or terms of use.
Comitis Capital brings a network of industry experts and investors that will support Threema's efforts to scale internationally while maintaining the brand's reputation for uncompromising privacy and technological rigor.
For users of Threema, this shouldn't change anything, at least in the upcoming period, but CyberInsider will be monitoring for important changes in user terms and privacy policies that may emerge after the acquisition has been completed.
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