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F5, Inc.

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F5, Inc.
Formerly
  • F5 Labs, Inc. (1996–1999)
  • F5 Networks, Inc. (1999–2021)
Company typePublic
IndustryTechnology
FoundedFebruary 26, 1996; 29 years ago (1996-02-26)
HeadquartersSeattle, Washington, U.S.
Key people
François Locoh-Donou (president and CEO)
ProductsApplication Security and Delivery
RevenueIncrease US$2.82 billion (2024)
Increase US$659 million (2024)
Increase US$567 million (2024)
Total assetsIncrease US$5.61 billion (2024)
Total equityIncrease US$3.13 billion (2024)
Number of employees
6,524 (2024)
ASN
Websitef5.com
Footnotes / references
Financials as of September 30, 2024.[1]

F5, Inc. is an American technology company specializing in application security, multi-cloud management, online fraud prevention, application delivery networking (ADN), application availability and performance, and network security, access, and authorization.

F5 originally offered application delivery controller (ADC) technology,[2] but has since expanded into application layer, automation, multi-cloud, and security services. As ransomware, data leaks, DDoS, and other attacks on businesses of all sizes are arising, companies such as F5 have continued to reinvent themselves.[3]

F5 is headquartered in Seattle, Washington in F5 Tower, with an additional 75 offices[4] in 43 countries[4] focusing on account management, global services support, product development, manufacturing, software engineering, and administrative jobs. Notable office locations include Spokane, Washington; New York, New York; Boulder, Colorado; London, England; San Jose, California; and San Francisco, California.[4]

While the majority of F5's revenue continues to be attributed to its hardware products, such as the BIG-IP iSeries systems, the company has begun to offer additional modules on its proprietary operating system, TMOS (Traffic Management Operating System).[5] These modules include Local Traffic Manager (LTM), Advanced Web Application Firewall (AWAF), DNS (previously named GTM), and Access Policy Manager (APM). These offer organizations that run BIG-IP systems the ability to deploy load balancing, Layer 7 application firewalls, single sign-on (for Azure AD, Active Directory, LDAP, and Okta), as well as enterprise-level VPNs. While the BIG-IP was traditionally a hardware product, F5 now offers it as a virtual machine, which it has branded as the BIG-IP Virtual Edition. The BIG-IP Virtual Edition is cloud-agnostic and can be deployed on-premises in a public and/or hybrid cloud environment.[citation needed]

Corporate history

[edit]

F5, Inc., originally named "F5 Labs"[6] and formerly branded "F5 Networks, Inc." was established in 1996.[7] Currently, the company's public-facing branding[8] generally presents the company as just "F5." The company's name is a reference to the highest intensity tornado on the Fujita scale.[6]

In 1997, F5 launched its first product,[9] a load balancer called BIG-IP. BIG-IP served the purpose of reallocating server traffic away from overloaded servers. In June 1999, the company had its initial public offering and was listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange with the symbol FFIV.[10]

In 2017, François Locoh-Donou replaced John McAdam as president and CEO.[11] Later in 2017, F5 launched a dedicated site and organization focused on gathering global threat intelligence data, analyzing application threats, and publishing related findings, dubbed "F5 Labs" in a nod to the company's history. The team continues to research application threats and publish findings every week. On May 3, 2017, F5 announced that it would move from its longtime headquarters on the waterfront near Seattle Center to a downtown Seattle skyscraper that would be called F5 Tower.[12] The move occurred in early 2019.

F5 employees include Dahl-Nygaard laureate Gilad Bracha, Google click fraud czar Shuman Ghosemajumder, and Defense.Net founder Barrett Lyon.[13]

48 of the Fortune 50 companies use F5 for load balancing, Layer 7 application security, fraud prevention, and API management.[4]

Product offerings

[edit]
F5 site in Liberty Lake, Washington state, December 2021

F5 Application Delivery and Security Platform (ADSP)

[edit]

In 2025, F5 introduced the Application Delivery and Security Platform (ADSP), a unified offering that combines application delivery, API protection, and threat mitigation across hardware, software, and SaaS environments. ADSP is designed to support hybrid and multicloud deployments and includes capabilities such as load balancing, web application firewalls, DDoS protection, and encrypted traffic inspection.[14]

F5 BIG-IP

[edit]

F5's BIG-IP product family comprises hardware, modularized software, and virtual appliances that run the F5 TMOS operating system.[15][16] Depending on the appliance selected, one or more BIG-IP product modules can be added.

In 1997, the company introduced its flagship product, BIG-IP.

BIG-IP history

[edit]

On September 7, 2004, F5 Networks released version 9.0 of the BIG-IP software in addition to appliances to run the software. Version 9.0 also marked the introduction of the company's TMOS architecture,[17] with enhancements including:

  • The move from BSD to Linux to handle system management functions (disks, logging, bootup, console access, etc.)
  • The creation of a Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM) to directly talk to the networking hardware and handle all network activities.[16][18][19]

F5 NGINX

[edit]

Since the NGINX, Inc. acquisition in 2019, F5 has offered a premium, enterprise-level version of NGINX with advanced features, multiple support SLAs, and regular software updates.[20]

F5 Distributed Cloud Services

[edit]

During F5 Agility 2022, F5 announced a new product offering being built on the platforms of BIG-IP, Shape Security, and Volterra.[21] The primary offering in this suite is the SaaS-based web application and API protection (WAAP). F5 Distributed Cloud Services enable organizations to deploy, secure, and manage their applications across various environments, including data centers, multi-cloud setups, and the network or enterprise edge.[citation needed]

Acquisitions

[edit]

MantisNet, Inc.

[edit]

In August 2025, F5 acquired MantisNet, Inc., a company specializing in real-time network observability using extended Berkeley Packet Filter (eBPF) technology. MantisNet’s tools provided telemetry and visibility into encrypted traffic within containerized environments. The acquisition was intended to support observability and monitoring in cloud-native architectures.[22]

Fletch, Inc.

[edit]

In June 2025, F5 acquired Fletch, Inc., a cybersecurity startup founded in 2020 that developed agentic AI tools for threat detection and prioritization. Fletch’s technology was designed to analyze large volumes of threat intelligence and reduce alert fatigue by surfacing relevant security signals. The acquisition was part of a broader industry trend of integrating AI-based threat analysis into security platforms.[23]

uRoam, Inc.

[edit]

F5 acquired uRoam, Inc. in 2003 for a total cash deal size of $25 million.[24] The strategic intent behind F5 Networks' acquisition of uRoam was to diversify its product offerings beyond its core application delivery and security services. This move aimed to address the growing demand for secure remote access to corporate networks and applications, aligning with industry trends.[citation needed]

MagniFire Websystems, Inc.

[edit]

F5 acquired MagniFire Websystems in 2004 for a total cash deal size of $29 million. This acquisition allowed F5 to enter the web application security space within the BIG-IP platform.[25] MagniFire Websystems products were sold independently when the deal first closed, then were quickly bundled into the BIG-IP product group.[citation needed]

Swan Labs Corporation

[edit]

In September 2005, F5 announced they had acquired Swan Labs for a total of $43 million to incorporate WAN optimization and application acceleration technology into the BIG-IP platform, specifically to improve their load balancing offering.[26]

Traffix Systems, Inc.

[edit]

In 2005, F5 Networks, Inc. at the time, now F5, Inc., announced it has acquired Traffix Systems for a total value of $135 million. Traffix Systems product was integrated within the F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) product line.[27]

Acopia Networks, Inc.

[edit]

In August 2007, F5, Inc., at the time, F5 Networks, Inc., announced they acquired Acopia Networks, Inc. to add file-area networking to the F5 BIG-IP application-delivery product line, also known as the Local Traffic Manager (LTM) module on the BIG-IP platforms.[28] The deal was valued at $210 million.[28]

LineRate Systems, Inc.

[edit]

In February 2013, F5 Networks acquired LineRate Systems, a developer of software-defined networking (SDN) services, to enhance its application-layer intelligence within software-defined data centers. This acquisition provided F5 with access to LineRate's layer 7+ networking services technology, intellectual property, and engineering talent. The company says that the integration of LineRate's programmable network capabilities bolstered F5's efforts to extend its market leadership in SDN services.[29]

Defense.Net, Inc.

[edit]

In May 2014, F5, Inc. (then F5 Networks, Inc.) announced it had acquired Defense.Net, Inc., a company offering cloud-based DDoS mitigation services.[30] The Defense.Net product would later become F5 Silverline. As of December 2022, the Silverline brand was retired, and the managed service offerings Silverline offered were merged into the F5 Distributed Cloud Services product portfolio.[31]

NGINX, Inc.

[edit]

In March 2019, F5 acquired NGINX, Inc., a company responsible for widely used open-source web server software, for $670 million.[32]

On 18 January 2022, original NGINX developer Igor Sysoev left F5, Inc. Later on, forks maintaining open-source licenses such as Angie and freenginx started being developed.[33][34][35] Igor Sysoev is not actively involved in this project.[36][37]

Shape Security, Inc.

[edit]

In January 2020, F5 acquired Shape Security, Inc., an AI-based bot detection company, for $1 billion.[38] F5 Networks then used the acquisition to introduce a new fraud detection engine.[39]

Volterra, Inc.

[edit]

In January 2021, F5 acquired Volterra, Inc., an edge networking company that sells SaaS security services, for $500 million.[40] The previously Volterra-branded products were incorporated into F5 Distributed Cloud Services, as of 2022.[41]

Threat Stack, Inc.

[edit]

In October 2021, F5 acquired Threat Stack, Inc., a Boston cloud computing security startup company for a reported $68 million.[42][43] As of December 15, 2022, the previous Threat Stack offering has been rolled into the F5 Distributed Cloud platform.[44]

Lilac Cloud, Inc.

[edit]

In January 2023, F5 announced it had entered into an agreement to purchase Lilac Cloud, an application services delivery provider. Lilac Cloud, based in Cupertino, California, was F5's CDN provider for its Distributed Cloud Services. The entire Lilac Cloud offering will be rolled into the overall F5 Distributed Cloud Services product line.[citation needed]

Suborbital Software Systems, Inc.

[edit]

In July 2023, Suborbital Software Systems, Inc., a technology startup that aimed to build cloud-native platforms on WebAssembly, announced it had been acquired by F5, Inc. The details of this acquisition were not disclosed due to the small nature of Suborbital's operations. The entire Suborbital product will be used within the F5 Distributed Cloud Services product line.[citation needed]

Wib Security, Inc.

[edit]

In February 2024 at AppWorld, F5's application security and delivery conference in San Jose, California, F5 announced it had acquired Wib: an API security company based in Tel Aviv, Israel, focused on vulnerability detection and observability in application development. The financial details of the Wib acquisition were not disclosed. As of February 2024, F5 was adding the Wib API intellectual property to the F5 Distributed Cloud Services product line.[45]

Heyhack

[edit]

In March 2024, F5 announced it had acquired Heyhack ApS, a Denmark-based and operated security penetration SaaS company.[46] The financial details of this acquisition were not disclosed. F5 announced Heyhack's intellectual property—such as its automated security reconnaissance and penetration testing solution—would be rolled into the F5 Distributed Cloud Services platform.

LeakSignal

[edit]

In March 2025, F5, Inc. acquired LeakSignal, a cybersecurity company specializing in real-time data protection and governance for AI applications.[47] The acquisition aimed to enhance the F5 Application Delivery and Security Platform (ADSP) with capabilities such as AI-driven data classification, policy enforcement, and compliance monitoring. LeakSignal had been recognized by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for its innovations in securing data in transit, and its integration into F5’s portfolio supports the growing need for data protection in generative AI and multicloud environments.[48]

Fletch

[edit]

In June 2025, F5 acquired Fletch, a San Francisco startup specializing in agentic AI for threat intelligence and alert prioritization. Fletch’s technology ingests disparate threat feeds and internal logs to surface high-value security signals in real time, reducing noise and aiding operator decision-making. With its 15-member team joining F5, the acquisition enhances the F5 Application Delivery and Security Platform with AI-native threat context and automation.[49]

MantisNet

[edit]

In August 2025, F5 acquired MantisNet, a Reston-based provider of eBPF-powered, cloud-native network observability and real-time network intelligence. MantisNet’s agentless telemetry technology enables visibility into encrypted, ephemeral, and east–west traffic without performance overhead. The integration with the F5 Application Delivery and Security Platform gives operators deeper insight into containerized environments and 5G architectures while streamlining observability and security functions in cloud-native deployments.[50]

CalypsoAI

[edit]

In September 2025, F5 announced its intent to acquire CalypsoAI, a Dublin-based startup specializing in runtime AI security and adaptive guardrails, for approximately US $180 million. CalypsoAI’s platform offers techniques such as adversarial red teaming, inference-layer defenses, and policy enforcement suited for generative and agentic AI workloads. Once closed, the acquisition is expected to strengthen F5’s ADSP by embedding enterprise-grade AI security across AI deployment lifecycles and reducing risk from AI-specific attack vectors.[51] On September 29, 2025, F5 announced the CalypsoAI acquisition closed and the CalypsoAI products joined the F5 ADSP as F5 AI Guardrails and F5 AI Red Team.[52]

References

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  1. ^ "F5, Inc. 2024 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 18 November 2024.
  2. ^ "How F5 Networks built an empire on controlling the internet". Information Age. 2016-06-10. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  3. ^ Datanyze. "F5 BIG-IP Platform Market Share and Competitor Report | Compare to F5 BIG-IP Platform, F5 BIG-IP APM, AWS Elastic Load Balancer". Datanyze. Retrieved 2021-09-24.
  4. ^ a b c d "English (US)". www.f5.com. Retrieved 2021-09-24.
  5. ^ "Take a Flexible and Adaptable Approach to Application Delivery" (PDF). BIG-IP Modules Datasheet. September 2020. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  6. ^ a b "K245: The founding of F5". my.f5.com. Retrieved 2025-10-24.
  7. ^ "F5 Networks Form 10-K". Retrieved 2012-05-02.
  8. ^ "Creative Guidelines" (PDF). f5.com. April 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 June 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  9. ^ Rossi, Ben (10 June 2016). "How F5 Networks built an empire on controlling the internet". Information Age.
  10. ^ "F5 Network's Ipo Lights Fire On First Day Of Public Trading | The Seattle Times". archive.seattletimes.com. Retrieved 2025-10-24.
  11. ^ "F5 names new CEO after yearlong search". The Seattle Times. January 30, 2017. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
  12. ^ "F5 Networks will move HQ to glitzy new Seattle skyscraper, to be called 'F5 Tower'". geekwire.com. 3 May 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  13. ^ "What is big ip edge client components all users". temanrarac1989's Ownd (in Japanese). 2022-05-05. Retrieved 2025-02-20.
  14. ^ "F5 grabs agentic AI startup Fletch to bolster security platform". Network World. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  15. ^ Steven Iveson (2013-04-20). "What the Heck Is F5 Networks' TMOS?". packetpushers.net. Retrieved 2013-12-02.
  16. ^ a b Ryan Kearny; Steve Graves (2008-12-14). "No operating system is an island". embedded.com. Retrieved 2013-12-02.
  17. ^ "What The Heck Is F5 Networks' TMOS? - Packet Pushers -". Packet Pushers. 2013-04-20. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
  18. ^ "Manual Chapter: Understanding Core System Services". f5.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2013-12-02.
  19. ^ "Overview of BIG-IP Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM) CPU and RAM usage". f5.com. Retrieved 2013-12-02.
  20. ^ "Datasheets". NGINX. 2023-07-11. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  21. ^ "F5 Agility 2022". agility2022.f5agility.com. Retrieved 2022-02-19.
  22. ^ "F5 acquires MantisNet to expand cloud-native observability capabilities". SiliconANGLE. 2025-08-20. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  23. ^ Bradley, PJ (June 23, 2025). "F5 Expands AI Security Reach with Fletch Acquisition". Security Buzz. Retrieved 2025-10-24.
  24. ^ Greene, Tim (2003-07-23). "F5 buys uRoam to strengthen access and authentication offering". Network World. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  25. ^ Greene, Tim (2004-06-01). "F5 buys Magnifire for $29 million". Network World. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
  26. ^ Dubie, Denise (2005-09-07). "F5 to acquire Swan Labs". Network World. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
  27. ^ "Acquisitions by F5 Networks". 2023-07-25. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  28. ^ a b Connor, Deni (2007-08-06). "F5 Networks to acquire Acopia Networks". Network World. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
  29. ^ "F5 Networks Acquires LineRate Systems". F5, Inc. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
  30. ^ "F5 Networks Acquires Defense.Net, Inc". www.f5.com. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
  31. ^ "F5 Silverline DDoS Protection | DevCentral". DevCentral - an F5 Community. Archived from the original on 2024-10-11. Retrieved 2025-02-20.
  32. ^ "F5 acquires NGINX for $670M to move into open-source, multi-cloud services". TechCrunch. 11 March 2019. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  33. ^ Whiteley, Rob (18 January 2022). "Do Svidaniya, Igor, and Thank You for NGINX". NGINX (Press release). Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022. we announce today Igor has chosen to step back from NGINX and F5 in order to spend more time with his friends and family and to pursue personal projects
  34. ^ Darkcrizt (2022-11-03). "Angie, the Nginx fork created by developers who left F5". Desde Linux. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  35. ^ "Angie: A New NGINX Fork Developed by Some of Its Former Devs". Vuink.com. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  36. ^ Borisov, Bobby (2022-10-31). "Angie: A New NGINX Fork Developed by Some of Its Former Devs". Linuxiac. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  37. ^ Larabel, Michael (2024-02-14). "Core NGINX Developer Forks Web Server Into Freenginx". www.phoronix.com. Retrieved 2024-02-15.
  38. ^ Condon, Stephanie. "F5 to acquire Shape Security for approximately $1 billion". ZDNet. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
  39. ^ Gagliordi, Natalie. "F5 Networks intros new fraud detection engine based on Shape Security acquisition". ZDNet. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  40. ^ "F5 Networks Reaches $500 Million Deal for Startup Volterra". Bloomberg.com. 2021-01-07. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
  41. ^ "F5 Strengthens Protection of the Digital World with F5 Distributed Cloud Services". www.f5.com. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
  42. ^ Page, Carly (20 September 2021). "F5 acquires cloud security startup Threat Stack for $68 million". Tech Crunch.
  43. ^ "F5 Enhances Cloud Security Portfolio with Acquisition of Threat Stack". F5, Inc. Retrieved 2025-10-24.
  44. ^ "Enhancing Modern App Security: Introducing F5 Distributed Cloud App Infrastructure Protection". www.f5.com. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  45. ^ "F5 Transforms Application Security for the AI Era". F5, Inc. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
  46. ^ "F5 Adds Automated Penetration Testing to Strengthen Multicloud Application Security Capabilities". F5, Inc. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
  47. ^ Capital, T. F. X. (2025-03-28). "Acquisition of LeakSignal by F5 Addresses Critical Data Projection Gaps | TFX Capital". Retrieved 2025-06-01.
  48. ^ "Strengthening Data Protection and Governance for AI Applications". F5, Inc. Retrieved 2025-06-01.
  49. ^ "How Agentic AI Simplifies Cybersecurity and Modern Threat Management". F5, Inc. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
  50. ^ "F5 acquires MantisNet to enhance cloud-native observability in the F5 Application Delivery and Security Platform". F5, Inc. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
  51. ^ "F5 to acquire CalypsoAI to bring advanced AI guardrails to large enterprises". F5, Inc. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
  52. ^ "F5 completes acquisition of CalypsoAI, introduces F5 AI Guardrails and F5 AI Red Team". F5, Inc. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
[edit]
  • Business data for F5, Inc.:
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