AVG had about 106 million active users when it filed to go public, and most of them paid nothing. The company began in 1991 in Czechoslovakia as Grisoft and gave away a basic antivirus program to anyone who wanted it. That free product brought in customers for almost nothing. AVG then sold paid security suites, small business tools and search partnerships on top. In February 2012 it listed on the New York Stock Exchange, a rare Czech-born software company on Wall Street.

Grisoft Gives It Away

Jan Gritzbach and Tomáš Hofer founded Grisoft in 1991, soon after the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia. Its antivirus product, AVG, became the company's name in 2008. The bet was freemium before the word was common. A free scanner earned trust and downloads around the world, and a share of those users would pay for stronger protection. The company kept its engineers in the Czech Republic and set up its legal home in Amsterdam.

Two Czech Rivals Merge

AVG sold shares at $16 on the New York Stock Exchange in February 2012. Growth slowed as people moved from PCs to phones and as Microsoft built free protection into Windows. AVG spent on mobile security and other new products to keep up. In July 2016 Avast, its old rival from Prague, agreed to buy AVG for $1.3 billion. The combined company later merged with NortonLifeLock in 2022 to form Gen Digital.

Cover: St Michael Triumphing Over the Dragon, Hieronymous Wierix. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for Saint Michael crushing the dragon (a guardian against viruses).