# Florian Forster

> Florian Forster is the CEO and co-founder of ZITADEL, the open-source identity infrastructure company he helped start in Switzerland in 2019. After beginning with a vehicle-electronics apprenticeship, he moved through systems administration, technical project management, public-sector identity work and standards groups before turning a recurring enterprise problem into a developer-focused platform. He now works from the San Francisco Bay Area as ZITADEL expands in the United States.

- **Role:** CEO & Co-Founder at ZITADEL
- **Organizations:** ZITADEL, Verein eCH, OpenID Foundation, Abraxas Informatik, Blaser Meewes & Partner, Namics, thyssenkrupp Presta, University of St. Gallen
- **Education:** Part-time studies in business information systems, OST - Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences, Swiss federal vocational qualification in vehicle electrical and electronic engineering, GBS Gewerbliche Berufsschule St. Gallen
- **Known for:** Co-founded ZITADEL and built it into an open-source identity infrastructure company serving customers in North America and Europe., Raised a $2.5 million seed round in 2022 and a $9 million Series A in 2024., Helped ZITADEL reach 10,000 GitHub stars in March 2025.

## Career timeline

- **2002-2006** — Completed a vocational apprenticeship in vehicle electrical and electronic engineering.
- **After 2006** — Moved into IT, progressing through systems administration and technical project management roles.
- **2014-2017** — Completed part-time studies related to business information systems at OST.
- **Before 2019** — Worked as a technical project manager at thyssenkrupp Presta and Namics, held identity and eGovernment leadership roles at Abraxas Informatik, and became a senior partner at Blaser Meewes & Partner.
- **2018-2019** — Served as head of Verein eCH's Identity & Access Management special interest group.
- **2019** — Co-founded the company and project that became ZITADEL with colleagues from Swiss public-sector technology work.
- **2020-present** — Continued contributing to Verein eCH's Identity & Access Management special interest group.
- **2022** — Led ZITADEL through a $2.5 million seed round led by Nexus Venture Partners.
- **2024** — Announced ZITADEL's $9 million Series A led by Nexus Venture Partners with Floodgate participating.
- **2025** — Moved with his family from Switzerland to the San Francisco Bay Area to grow ZITADEL's US footprint.
- **2025** — ZITADEL passed 10,000 GitHub stars and participated in GitHub's Secure Open Source Fund.

## Achievements

- Co-founded ZITADEL and built it into an open-source identity infrastructure company serving customers in North America and Europe.
- Raised a $2.5 million seed round in 2022 and a $9 million Series A in 2024.
- Helped ZITADEL reach 10,000 GitHub stars in March 2025.
- Contributed to national identity standards work through Verein eCH and participated in OpenID Foundation work.
- Co-authored the eCH-0251 guidance on web security in identity and access management.
- Helped establish ZITADEL's US headquarters and moved to the Bay Area to expand its American presence.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Promoted a public preview of ZITADEL's next developer experience, including a new CLI, local-first setup and an open next-generation repository.
- **2025-08** — Co-authored ZITADEL's account of participating in GitHub's Secure Open Source Fund.
- **2025-04** — Published an extended interview on ZITADEL's founding, daily operations, licensing, US expansion and product direction.
- **2025-03** — Marked ZITADEL passing 10,000 GitHub stars and outlined planned performance, login, SCIM, caching and authorization work.
- **2025-02** — Announced his planned family move from Switzerland to the Bay Area to grow ZITADEL's US footprint.
- **2024-11** — Announced a $9 million Series A led by Nexus Venture Partners with participation from Floodgate.

## Links

- Website: https://zitadel.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/forsterflorian
- GitHub: https://github.com/fforootd
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@zitadel
- Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/rootd.ch

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/florian-forster
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-18