Andy Yen - From CERN to 100 Million Users with Proton Mail | Alan Frei Podcast | A3F 2026

This episode is a special fireside chat recorded live at A3F 2026
in Zurich with Andy Yen, founder and CEO of Proton.


What started as a project by scientists and engineers from CERN
has grown into one of the world's leading privacy-first
technology companies, serving more than 100 million users
globally across email, VPN, cloud storage and security products.


In this conversation, Andy shares the remarkable story behind
Proton, why almost no investors believed in the company in the
early days, and how a crowdfunding campaign helped turn an
ambitious vision into reality. He also reveals how Apple
co-founder Steve Wozniak became an early supporter — and why all
he received in return was a Proton t-shirt.


We also discuss why raising capital has become easier today,
whether that is actually beneficial for founders, and why
companies had to become much stronger when venture capital was
harder to access.


Other topics include:




The early days of Proton and building from CERN




From crowdfunding to 100 million users




Why talent is the most important ingredient for scaling a
company




Hiring globally and building world-class teams




Why Switzerland is great for startups but often difficult for
scale-ups




Trust, privacy and the future of AI




Why technology increasingly competes on trust




What needs to change in Switzerland's startup ecosystem and
politics




Building globally from Switzerland




One of the most inspiring conversations from A3F 2026 about
ambition, trust, technology and what it takes to build a
category-defining company.