Tailscale
Software company
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, tvOS, Plan9 |
| Type | SD-WAN, P2P, VPN, ZTNA |
| License | BSD |
| Website | tailscale |
| Repository | github |
History
Founded 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
The 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
The 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.
Features
Taildrop
Taildrop is an encrypted Peer-to-peer file sharing service that has entered a public alpha.[22] It is available to all users on all plans, once enabled from the admin console.[23][unreliable source?] Its user facing functionality is similar to AirDrop on iOS or Quick Share on Android (operating system).[24][25][26]
Exit Nodes
Exit Nodes, in a setup similar to Tor (network), is a node where Tailscale connects to the rest of the internet. These can be configured on most devices with Tailscale installed, and when this is done they act as the decryption point for your traffic.[27] Tailscale also started a public beta (a paid add-on),[28] partnering with Mullvad to allow users exit via Mullvad servers.[29][30][31]
See also
- LogMeIn Hamachi
- ZeroTier
- NetBird
Notes
- 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. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)