From Hobbyist to Enterprise: The Journey of ZeroTier

Take any device anywhere on Earth and connect it to any other device on a common shared network! Basically treat the entire planet like one data center!

In this milestone 100th episode of Great Things with Great Tech, Anthony Spiteri is joined by ZeroTier’s founder Adam Ierymenko and new CEO Andrew Gault. Together, they unravel the story of ZeroTier: a peer-to-peer networking platform rewriting the rules of global connectivity for a cloud-driven, edge-connected world.

Andrew brings a seasoned operator’s lens, revealing why the company’s mission resonates with him and how ZeroTier is quietly becoming the connective fabric for everything from gaming rigs to drones, oil wells, and the future internet of things.Adam dives into his early years programming on a Commodore 64, the pain points of working at NOAA, and why he set out to build a “virtual smart switch the size of the Earth.” Andrew shares what drew him to ZeroTier as a user and why he believes packaging, simplicity, and reliability will take the company mainstream.In This Episode, We Cover:

• Adam’s journey from coding on a Commodore 64 to building ZeroTier out of open-source roots.
• Why enterprise networking is stuck in the past—and how ZeroTier is rewriting the rules
• The birth of cryptographic addressing and what it means for privacy, security, and autonomy.
• How ZeroTier’s peer-to-peer platform turns the whole planet into one giant virtual network switch.
• Andrew’s story: from the European Space Agency, Gaikai, Oculus, and Magic Pony to ZeroTier CEO.
• The secrets behind ZeroTier’s viral growth and global adoption—from gamers to oil rigs and drones
• Why simplicity and security are the magic combo that wins over both engineers and enterprises.
• Use cases you didn’t expect: industrial automation, edge computing, IoT, and even self-hosted, airgapped deployments.
• How ZeroTier is getting ready for a world with billions of connected devices—including robots, cars, and the next internet of things.
• The ZeroTier elevator pitch: “like making a Slack channel for machines”—and what’s next for the company.

ZeroTier is a U.S.-based technology company founded in 2011 and headquartered in Irvine, California.ZeroTier specializes in software-defined networking, offering a platform that enables secure, peer-to-peer virtual networks for devices anywhere in the world. The company’s approach combines the best of VPN, SD-WAN, and SDN technologies, allowing users to create production-ready, scalable networks across cloud, edge, and on-premises environments. With open-source roots and a focus on simplicity and security, ZeroTier eliminates networking complexity—empowering organizations to connect devices instantly and securely, without hardware or manual configuration.

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EPISODE LINKS

Zero Tier Web: https://www.zerotier.comAdam Ierymenko on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamierymenkoAndrew Gault on LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewgaultZero Tier on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/zerotier

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