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Private Internet Access (PIA) is a provider of VPN and proxy services, headquartered in the United States. The company is a subsidiary of Level 3 Communications.

PIA provides VPN, proxy, and other encrypted communication services to individuals, businesses, and governments. The company has more than 1 million subscribers.

PIA was founded in 2008 by John Gilmore and Jay Helfert. Gilmore had been the founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Helfert had been the co-founder of Verisign, a provider of domain name services.

Gilmore and Helfert pooled their money to create PIA, and they served as the company’s CEO and CTO, respectively.

In February 2013, PIA announced that it had been acquired by Level 3 Communications. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

PIA continued to operate as a subsidiary of Level 3 Communications, and its CEO and CTO remained unchanged.