Akamai Technologies is a global edge and cloud company founded in 1998, originating from an MIT challenge to solve internet congestion. The company operates the world’s largest content delivery network with over 325,000 servers in 135 countries. Akamai trades on NASDAQ under ticker AKAM with a market cap of $14.3 billion and annual revenue approaching $4 billion.
Platform Overview
Akamai’s platform combines content delivery, security, and cloud computing at the edge.
The content delivery network handles massive portions of global web traffic through 4,100+ points of presence. Akamai remains the world’s largest CDN provider, though the business now represents only one-third of revenue.
Web application firewall products include App & API Protector, an all-in-one solution combining WAF, L7 DDoS defense, API discovery, and bot controls. App & API Protector Hybrid provides CDN-agnostic protection for multicloud environments.
API security capabilities were enhanced through the $450 million acquisition of Noname Security completed in June 2024. The combined platform addresses API attacks that increased 109% year-over-year.
Zero Trust security includes Akamai Guardicore Segmentation for microsegmentation, acquired for $600 million in 2021, plus ZTNA, DNS Firewall, and Secure Web Gateway.
DDoS protection through Prolexic provides always-on mitigation for layer 3, 4, and 7 attacks.
Security Transformation
Akamai has transformed from a legacy CDN provider into a cybersecurity and cloud leader. Security and compute now represent 69% of total revenue. The security segment exceeds $2 billion in annual revenue with 16% growth.
Key Customers
Akamai serves over 198,000 companies globally including Apple, Microsoft, Adobe, Airbnb, ESPN, BBC, Hilton, and NASA.
Recent Developments
In June 2024, Akamai completed the acquisition of Noname Security for $450 million, the first API security company to reach unicorn status. In December 2025, Akamai acquired Fermyon Technologies for serverless computing capabilities.
In February 2025, a major technology company selected Akamai as strategic cloud provider with a multi-year commitment exceeding $100 million.
Leadership
Co-founder Dr. Tom Leighton serves as CEO since 2013. An MIT Professor of Applied Mathematics, Leighton founded the company with Daniel Lewin, who was tragically killed on 9/11. The name “Akamai” is Hawaiian for “intelligent.”