Breaking: Linode will be acquired by Akamai Technologies in a $900M deal

Old City cloud tech company Linode, bootstrapped since its founding, will be acquired by Cambridge, Massachusetts’ Akamai Technologies. The deal is valued at $900 million, per Akamai.

Founded by CEO Christopher Aker in 2003, Linode is one of the world’s first and largest open source-focused cloud hosting providers, and a mainstay in Philadelphia’s tech community. If you don’t know it for its cloud prowess, you probably know its iconic headquarters on Arch Street, which once housed the “Real World” cast. The company counts around 250 employees and half a million users.

“We started Linode 19 years ago to make the power of the cloud easier and more accessible,” Aker said in a statement. “Along the way, we built a cloud computing platform trusted by developers and businesses around the world. Today, those customers face new challenges as cloud services become all-encompassing, including compute, storage, security and delivery from core to edge. Solving those challenges requires tremendous integration and scale which Akamai and Linode plan to bring together under one roof. This marks an exciting new chapter for Linode and a major step forward for our current and future customers.”

The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of this year. While steep, the cost of the deal isn’t the highest Philly has seen: In 2019, Spark Therapeutics’ $4.8 billion deal was confirmed as biggest-ever VC-backed exit for the city.

This is a developing story.

Today, we start a new chapter in Linode’s story. We’re excited to announce that @linode has entered into an agreement to be acquired by @Akamai, creating the world’s most distributed compute platform — from core to edge. Read about it here ⤵️ https://t.co/oiACajXaZB

— Linode (@linode) February 15, 2022