Tailscale Inc. is a software company based in Toronto, Ontario. Tailscale develops a partially open-source software-defined mesh virtual private network (VPN) and a web-based management service.[a][3][4] The company provides a zero config VPN as a service under the same name.[5][better source needed]
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | |
| Founded | 2019 |
| Founder | Avery Pennarun David Carney Brad Fitzpatrick  |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario |
Key people |
|
| Website | tailscale |
| Tailscale | |
|---|---|
| Developer | Tailscale Inc. |
| Stable release | 1.92.3[1]
/ December 16, 2025 |
| Repository | github |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, tvOS, Plan9 |
| Type | SD-WAN, P2P, VPN, ZTNA |
| License | BSD |
| Website | tailscale |
History
editFounded in 2019 by Google engineers Avery Pennarun, David Crawshaw, David Carney, and Brad Fitzpatrick,[6] the company secured funding of $12 million in a Series A round in November 2020 led by Accel with seed investors Heavybit and Uncork Capital participating.[7] In May 2022, the company secured a $100 million Series B round, led by CRV and Insight Partners, with participation from existing investors.[6][8] In April 2025 the company secured a $160 million Series C round, led by Accel, with participation from CRV, Insight Partners, Heavybit, and Uncork Capital.[9]
The company's name is inspired from a research paper The Tail at Scale[b] published by Google.[10]
Software
editThe open-source software acts in combination with the management service to establish peer-to-peer or relayed VPN communication with other clients using the WireGuard protocol.[11][12] Tailscale can open direct connection to the peer using NAT traversal techniques such as STUN or request port forwarding via UPnP IGD, NAT-PMP or PCP.[13] If the software fails to establish direct communication it falls back to using DERP (Designated Encrypted Relay for Packets) protocol relays provided by the company.[14] The IPv4 addresses given to clients are in the carrier-grade NAT reserved space. This was chosen to avoid interference with existing networks.[15] The Linux client can also send traffic to networks behind itself by disabling SNAT and routing directly to the source IPs. [16]
Supported platforms
editThe Tailscale client software supports a number of operating systems and embedded software systems,[17] including:
A Kubernetes operator[20] and Docker images[21] are also available.
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Although Tailscale provides VPN software & services, it should not be confused to be what is commonly referred to as a VPN service, however Tailscale's software can be integrated with the Mullvad VPN service[2]
- ^ Dean, Jeffrey; André Barroso, Luiz. "The Tail at Scale". Google. Archived from the original on 14 December 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
References
edit- ^ "Tailscale changelog"
- ^ Chiara Castro (2023-09-08). "Mullvad and Tailscale join forces in the name of online security". TechRadar. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
- ^ Rogers, Sarah (2021-09-09). "Tailscale VPN review". TechRadar. Archived from the original on 19 September 2021. Retrieved 2022-04-13.
- ^ Vaughan-Nichols, Steven. "Tailscale launches Wireguard-secured mesh network". ZDNet. Archived from the original on 23 February 2023. Retrieved 2022-04-13.
- ^ Hanselman, Scott. "Using Tailscale on Windows to network more easily with WSL2 and Visual Studio Code". www.hanselman.com. Archived from the original on 2014-08-09. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
- ^ a b Kyle, Wiggers (5 May 2022). "Tailscale lands $100 million to 'transform' enterprise VPNs with mesh technology". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 23 February 2023.
- ^ Dillet, Romain (10 November 2020). "Tailscale raises $12 million for its WireGuard-based corporate VPN". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 23 February 2023. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
- ^ Tailscale (4 May 2022). "Tailscale raises $100M… to fix the Internet". Tailscale. Archived from the original on 6 May 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
- ^ Tailscale (8 April 2025). "Building the New Internet, together — our Series C and what's next". Tailscale. Archived from the original on 8 April 2025. Retrieved 2025-11-28.
- ^ Security Cryptography Whatever: Tailscale with Avery Pennarun & Brad Fitzpatrick. 15 Jan 2022. Event occurs at 45m53s. Archived from the original on 23 February 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2023 – via archive.org.
{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Morgan, Ethel. "Tailscale". ethulhu.co.uk. Archived from the original on 23 February 2023. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
- ^ "What is Tailscale? · Tailscale Docs". Tailscale. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
- ^ "Troubleshooting device connectivity · Tailscale Docs". Tailscale. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
- ^ "Terminology and concepts · Tailscale Docs". Tailscale. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
- ^ "IP pool · Tailscale Docs". Tailscale. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
- ^ "Disable SNAT · Tailscale Docs". Tailscale. Retrieved 2025-03-15.
- ^ "Download · Tailscale". tailscale.com. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
- ^ Tailscale. "Access Synology NAS from anywhere". Tailscale. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
- ^ "QNAP". tailscale.com. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
- ^ Tailscale. "Kubernetes operator". Tailscale. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
- ^ "Contain your excitement: A deep dive into using Tailscale with Docker". tailscale.com. Retrieved 2024-03-07.