Early development and global growth
Eugene Kaspersky started his career collecting viruses in 1989 and developed the first version of his antivirus software in response to the Cascade Virus. He, Natalya Kaspersky, and Alexey De-Monderik founded Kaspersky Lab in 1997 in Moscow to continue developing the AVP product. The software gained recognition in 1994 after a competitive analysis by Hamburg University gave it first place. In 1998, the AVP product became the only software able to remove the CIH virus during the first three weeks of the outbreak, which led to deals in Japan, Finland, and Germany. By 2000, the company had 65 employees and sales in more than 40 countries. The company expanded abroad between 2005 and 2010 and reached $822 million in annual revenue by 2024. In 2010, Kaspersky ranked fourth in the global ranking of antivirus vendors by revenue. In 2024, global B2B sales grew 19 percent, with enterprise sales rising 21 percent and SMB sales growing 17 percent. The company left the Business Software Alliance in 2012 because it disagreed with SOPA. In 2016, research hubs analyzed more than 350,000 malware samples every day. This expansion transformed a small team into a global entity. In 2011, General Atlantic bought a 20 percent share for $200 million, but the company later re-purchased those shares to stay private.
US restrictions and Kremlin allegations
The US government alleged Kaspersky engaged with the Russian Federal Security Service, though the company denied all such ties. In 2017, the Trump administration banned Kaspersky on federal civilian and military computers after the FBI advised private firms not to use the software. The US Department of Commerce later added AO Kaspersky Lab, OOO Kaspersky Group, and Kaspersky Labs Limited to the Entity List. Following the 2024 US announcement that prohibited Kaspersky from selling or distributing updates to US customers, the company decided to leave the US market and begin closing its operations, which affected fewer than 50 employees.
On September 25, 2024, the company replaced software on US users’ computers with UltraAV, a move that angered many users. The US Treasury also sanctioned 12 senior leaders, including COO Andrei Gennadyevich Tikhonov and Deputy CEO Daniil Sergeyevich Borshchev. In 2023, many senior staff members faced an attack that compromised thousands of iPhones, with traces dating back to 2019. The Biden administration also elevated a national security probe into the company in 2022. In 2015, former employees alleged the company modified files in the VirusTotal database to trigger false positives in competitor software, though the company denied this. In 2019, executive Ruslan Stoyanov was convicted of treason. I think the sudden replacement of software with UltraAV without notifying users was a terrible move.
Enterprise competition
Kaspersky and Bitdefender compete for enterprise customers using different models. Bitdefender targets the midmarket using its GravityZone platform and aggressive discounting. GravityZone Business Security costs $77.99 per device annually for a one, two, or three-year subscription. This product includes Machine Learning Antimalware, Process Inspector, and Ransomware Mitigation. Bitdefender holds a 75.8% positive review sentiment on G2 and Trustpilot. Bitdefender also became a major player in the 2026 IDC MarketScape for midmarket MDR.
You already know the basic functionality of endpoint tools, so I will focus on the enterprise divergence. Kaspersky focuses on AI-driven managed detection and response and industrial security. The company’s GReAT team led the discovery of the Stuxnet worm. In 2024, Kaspersky B2C sales saw a slight decrease of 2 percent due to geopolitical influence. The company sells a lineup including Kaspersky Basic, Plus, and Premium. In the enterprise space, Kaspersky provides solutions for OT environments and hybrid cloud infrastructures. I cannot find any public review data for Kaspersky to compare its performance against Bitdefender. Does the lack of consumer feedback reflect a shift in their target audience?
