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Akamai Secures Additional $35 Million in Financing
CAMBRIDGE, MA, May 14, 1999 --- Akamai Technologies, Inc. has announced the close of a $35 million second round of private financing. Including the company's first round of funding in November of last year, Akamai has raised over $43 million. Already the world's largest fault-tolerant network for distributing Web content, the new financing will enable the ongoing expansion of Akamai's network.
Baker Communications Fund, L.P., a New York City-based private equity fund, known for high profile investments in the communications field, has joined the original group of investors, taking the lead in contributing the recent round of capital. Battery Ventures, a leading high tech venture capital firm based in Wellesley, Mass., and Polaris Venture Partners, a Boston- and Seattle-based, early-stage technology venture capital firm, have contributed additional capital to their original investments. The second round of financing includes both equity as well as debt purchased by Baker and the TCW Group, a Los Angeles-based money management firm.
Akamai's first service offering, FreeFlowSM, unveiled in January by top scientists from MIT's famed Laboratory for Computer Science, enables faster and more reliable delivery of rich Web pages from the world's most heavily visited sites to users around the world. Currently, Akamai's worldwide fault-tolerant network consists of over 500 servers on more than 20 networks, and has a total capacity of over 10 gigabits per second - enough throughput to support the peak demand of the world's 25 top Web sites combined. In the first week of May, Akamai served over one-quarter billion hits per day and 350 megabits per second as an average during peak hours. These extraordinary volumes, however, utilized only 3% of Akamai's total capacity.
"Baker is proud to be part of the growing Akamai team," said Edward Scott, Partner at Baker Communications Fund, L.P. "Akamai has the first truly scalable solution to delivering rich content and streaming media over the Internet. Akamai's FreeFlow service presents a win-win for content providers, ISPs and end-users of the Internet."
"Since our incorporation last fall, Akamai has been on a fast track -- building out our network, hiring the best and brightest people, and signing up leading eCommerce and media customers," said George Conrades, Akamai's Chairman and CEO. "This new round of investment, coming so quickly after we launched commercial service in April, will further enable us to meet the enormous opportunity for FreeFlow as well as develop new service offerings.
Both Battery and Polaris contributed to the $8.4 million in start-up capital Akamai received in November 1998. Battery Ventures played a key role in the formation of Akamai, working with its founders while they were based at MIT. In addition, Polaris Venture Partner George Conrades, former CEO of BBN, serves as Akamai's Chairman and CEO. Private investors also contributed to the company's first and second rounds of financing.
"We are elated to continue our financial and strategic relationship with Akamai," said Todd Dagres, Partner at Battery Ventures. "This investment demonstrates our conviction that the technology developed by the company's founders is revolutionary."
The company was founded by Tom Leighton, MIT Professor of Applied Mathematics and a recognized authority on algorithms, and his graduate student Danny Lewin. Over the last several months, Akamai has also recruited a top-notch team of experienced Internet business professionals to join its founding group of world-class scientists. In addition to George Conrades, other executive appointments include: Paul Sagan, former President of Time Inc. New Media, as Akamai Chief Operating Officer; Earl Galleher, former President of Digex's Web Site Management Division, as Akamai Vice President of Sales and Distribution; David Goodtree, former Forrester Group Director, as Vice President of M
About Akamai
Akamai Technologies is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts and has offices in San Mateo and Cupertino, California, and Europe. Akamai is the leader in distributed content, streaming media, and applications delivery, serving over 225 of the Web's most popular properties including over 100 leading e-commerce companies. Akamai has deployed the broadest global network for content, streaming media, and applications delivery with more than 2000 servers in over 40 countries directly connected to more than 100 different telecommunications networks. Akamai (pronounced AH kuh my) is Hawaiian for intelligent, clever and cool.
| Contacts: |
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| Marco Greenberg NYPR 212-367-9600 marco@nypr.com |
--or-- | David Goodtree Akamai Technologies 617-250-3080 david@akamai.com |
CAMBRIDGE, MA, May 14, 1999 --- Akamai Technologies, Inc. has announced the close of a $35 million second round of private financing. Including the company's first round of funding in November of last year, Akamai has raised over $43 million. Already the world's largest fault-tolerant network for distributing Web content, the new financing will enable the ongoing expansion of Akamai's network.
Baker Communications Fund, L.P., a New York City-based private equity fund, known for high profile investments in the communications field, has joined the original group of investors, taking the lead in contributing the recent round of capital. Battery Ventures, a leading high tech venture capital firm based in Wellesley, Mass., and Polaris Venture Partners, a Boston- and Seattle-based, early-stage technology venture capital firm, have contributed additional capital to their original investments. The second round of financing includes both equity as well as debt purchased by Baker and the TCW Group, a Los Angeles-based money management firm.
Akamai's first service offering, FreeFlowSM, unveiled in January by top scientists from MIT's famed Laboratory for Computer Science, enables faster and more reliable delivery of rich Web pages from the world's most heavily visited sites to users around the world. Currently, Akamai's worldwide fault-tolerant network consists of over 500 servers on more than 20 networks, and has a total capacity of over 10 gigabits per second - enough throughput to support the peak demand of the world's 25 top Web sites combined. In the first week of May, Akamai served over one-quarter billion hits per day and 350 megabits per second as an average during peak hours. These extraordinary volumes, however, utilized only 3% of Akamai's total capacity.
"Baker is proud to be part of the growing Akamai team," said Edward Scott, Partner at Baker Communications Fund, L.P. "Akamai has the first truly scalable solution to delivering rich content and streaming media over the Internet. Akamai's FreeFlow service presents a win-win for content providers, ISPs and end-users of the Internet."
"Since our incorporation last fall, Akamai has been on a fast track -- building out our network, hiring the best and brightest people, and signing up leading eCommerce and media customers," said George Conrades, Akamai's Chairman and CEO. "This new round of investment, coming so quickly after we launched commercial service in April, will further enable us to meet the enormous opportunity for FreeFlow as well as develop new service offerings.
Both Battery and Polaris contributed to the $8.4 million in start-up capital Akamai received in November 1998. Battery Ventures played a key role in the formation of Akamai, working with its founders while they were based at MIT. In addition, Polaris Venture Partner George Conrades, former CEO of BBN, serves as Akamai's Chairman and CEO. Private investors also contributed to the company's first and second rounds of financing.
"We are elated to continue our financial and strategic relationship with Akamai," said Todd Dagres, Partner at Battery Ventures. "This investment demonstrates our conviction that the technology developed by the company's founders is revolutionary."
The company was founded by Tom Leighton, MIT Professor of Applied Mathematics and a recognized authority on algorithms, and his graduate student Danny Lewin. Over the last several months, Akamai has also recruited a top-notch team of experienced Internet business professionals to join its founding group of world-class scientists. In addition to George Conrades, other executive appointments include: Paul Sagan, former President of Time Inc. New Media, as Akamai Chief Operating Officer; Earl Galleher, former President of Digex's Web Site Management Division, as Akamai Vice President of Sales and Distribution; David Goodtree, former Forrester Group Director, as Vice President of M
About Akamai
Akamai Technologies is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts and has offices in San Mateo and Cupertino, California, and Europe. Akamai is the leader in distributed content, streaming media, and applications delivery, serving over 225 of the Web's most popular properties including over 100 leading e-commerce companies. Akamai has deployed the broadest global network for content, streaming media, and applications delivery with more than 2000 servers in over 40 countries directly connected to more than 100 different telecommunications networks. Akamai (pronounced AH kuh my) is Hawaiian for intelligent, clever and cool.
