oh fuck..

uh... nevermind?

Threema has  been through two private equity acquisitions now. In 2020, the original cofounders sold to AFINUM (German PE firm) but retained leadership and a significant share. Then the founders left the company entirely in 2024. Just announced in January 2026: Comitis Capital (Hamburg-based PE) is acquiring Threema from AFINUM. The deal is expected to close this month.  This is what’s called a secondary buyout - one PE firm flipping to another. The concerning pattern: ∙ 2020: Founders sell majority to AFINUM ∙ 2024: Founders exit completely ∙ 2026: Flipped to another PE firm Threema claims “our core values, corporate mission, and management remain unchanged”  - which is the standard line in these acquisitions. They emphasize that technical infrastructure and data centers will remain in Switzerland , but the company is now fully owned by German investors with zero founder involvement. Why this matters: PE firms optimize for exit value. Two buyouts in 5 years with founders completely out suggests the product is now a financial asset, not a mission-driven project. Compare to Signal, which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. One commenter on the news put it bluntly: “I so liked this product… simpleX is now the only clean option in the market.”  If you want something without VC/PE ownership risk, SimpleX and Session are both structurally different - Session is backed by a foundation, SimpleX is open source with a different funding model. Delta Chat also dodges this since there’s no company to acquire.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​