It's very difficult for me to contemplate how anybody could run a VPN, however reputable, that isn't compromised by one intelligence agency at least. Their incentive structures and their costs to participate in this space just make it a no-brainer.

If you're starting a brand new VPN company with ironclad ideals about privacy - are you going to be able to compete with state-run enterprises that can subsidize their own competing "businesses", on top of whatever coercive authority they possess to intervene in local small businesses?