Eduard Kučera (born 11 January 1953) is a Czech

software engineer Software engineering is a branch of both computer science and engineering focused on designing, developing, testing, and maintaining software applications. It involves applying engineering principles and computer programming expertise to develop ...

and an entrepreneur. He is the co-founder of the

computer security Computer security (also cybersecurity, digital security, or information technology (IT) security) is a subdiscipline within the field of information security. It consists of the protection of computer software, systems and computer network, n ...

company

Avast Avast Software s.r.o. is a Czech multinational cybersecurity software company headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic, that researches and develops computer security software, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Avast had more th ...

along with

Pavel Baudiš Pavel Baudiš (born 15 May 1960) is a Czech software engineer, entrepreneur and the co-founder of Avast along with Eduard Kučera. He became the largest Gen Digital individual or non-institutional shareholder. As of 2024, he is the 8th wealthies ...

. Kučera is the 13th wealthiest person in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

as of 2023 according to ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'', with a net worth of more than 29.8 billion

Czech koruna The koruna, or crown (sign: Kč; code: CZK, ), has been the currency of the Czech Republic since 1993. The koruna is one of the European Union's eight currencies, and the Czech Republic is legally bound to adopt the euro in the future. The ...

. Kučera studied in

Charles University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...

before co-founding Alwil Software with Baudiš. The company was renamed to Avast Software and

Avast Antivirus Avast Antivirus is a family of cross-platform internet security applications developed by Gen Digital Inc. for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. Avast offers free and paid products that provide computer security, browser security, an ...

became one of the most used computer security software applications.Avast worth 'upwards of $2 billion'; no IPO before 2017

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

. Published on 29 October 2015

References

1953 births Living people Charles University alumni Czech company founders Czech business executives Czech billionaires Czech software engineers {{Czech-bio-stub