2025-08-10 –, TR411
True privacy-aware AI requires a fundamental shift: from cloud monopolies to local intelligence running on hardware we can trust. ExpressVPN, as a new RISC-V International Strategic Member, is building this workshop with industry pioneers who are making this vision possible.
Beginner
Peter Membrey is Chief Research Officer at ExpressVPN, where he leads the exploration of emerging technologies that will define the future of privacy infrastructure. As the creator of Lightway—ExpressVPN's open-source VPN protocol protecting millions of users worldwide—and a core architect of TrustedServer, the industry's first RAM-only server platform, Peter has consistently pushed the boundaries of what's possible in security technology. An IEEE Computer Society Distinguished Contributor and Chartered Fellow of the British Computer Society, Peter holds a doctorate in engineering and has co-authored over a dozen technical books. His current research focuses on the intersection of open hardware, zero-trust architectures, and privacy-preserving technologies, with particular interest in how RISC-V can revolutionize the security landscape just as Linux transformed software. At ExpressVPN, Peter is spearheading investigations into custom hardware solutions that could redefine privacy technology—from purpose-built VPN appliances to local AI
processing that keeps data under user control. He believes open hardware represents the next frontier in building truly verifiable, trustworthy infrastructure.