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. Adam shares how a grumpy network at NOAA, frustrations with enterprise complexity, and his passion for open source led to ZeroTier’s birth. 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.

00:00 – Intro: Why the internet is broken for modern work
01:55 – Adam’s background: From Commodore 64 to NOAA pain points
06:45 – The open-source roots and cryptographic addressing
13:06 – Building a “virtual smart switch the size of the Earth”
16:15 – Early viral growth: Gamers, devs, and unexpected use cases
20:53 – Fundraising, and the shift to enterprise
24:26 – From user to CEO: Andrew’s journey and vision
33:31 – The beauty of ZeroTier: Simplicity, security, and magic
40:49 – Use cases: IoT, drones, oil wells, edge computing
46:16 – From gaming to industrial: The flexibility of the platform
48:26 – Self-hosting and airgapped/edge scenarios
49:54 – The future: 125B devices, robots, and the world as one data center
53:51 – The “packaging” problem and ZeroTier’s next phase
56:34 – The elevator pitch: “Like making a Slack channel for machines”
59:46 – Closing thoughts: Scaling, adoption, and the road ahead

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.com
Adam Ierymenko on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamierymenko
Andrew Gault on LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewgault
Zero Tier on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/zerotier

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