Fastly

Fastly is a cloud and edge services platform which offers a range of services including a content delivery network (CDN), load balancing, and a cloud security offering that was enhanced by acquiring Signal Sciences (SS) in October 2020. The company launched its “Compute@Edge” platform in November 2019 which enables developers to build and run websites and apps on the edge across a range of industries including online retail, digital publishing, financial services, and online education. Fastly held an IPO on the NASDAQ in April 2019, raising USD 180 million. As of December 2023, the company had 3,243 customers including 578 enterprise customers.

In March 2022, Fastly acquired Fanout , a platform to build and scale real-time and streaming APIs, for an undisclosed amount. Fastly integrated Fanout technology into its own network to enable Fastly users to have access to real-time app development at the edge, use their existing HTTP origin instead of maintaining a WebSocket or other push protocol messaging infrastructure, and streamline workflows. 

In May 2022, Fastly acquired web application development platform Glitch for an undisclosed amount to integrate the platform with its own Fastly edge computing services. Fastly leveraged Glitch’s development team to form a new “Developer Experience” team within Fastly to create a number of new tools and resources for users. The company went on to acquire Domainr , a domain availability application programming interface (API) provider, for an undisclosed amount in August 2023. Fastly integrated it into Fastly’s own services and infrastructure to enable users access to domain registries to check availability. Furthermore, the company announced the general availability of Certainly, its transport layer security (TLS) Certification Authority (CA). The solution enables users to create and manage certificates issued by Certainly CA to secure their websites or API endpoints served by Fastly. 

The platform is also a serverless operation. This allows quicker serverless code executions while removing the need for developers to manage the underlying infrastructure. In November 2020, Fastly launched new features to enhance its Compute@Edge platform including new command line tools (CLI), Terraform application programming interface (API) support, and additional language support. In March 2022, Fastly, launched the Compute@Edge partner ecosystem , which includes a number of integrations to enable customers to build new edge computing use cases. During the same period, Fastly also announced plans to integrate its subsidiary Fanout’s proxy into its Compute@Edge serverless offering, so users can build real-time applications within Fastly's edge network.

Fastly introduced JavaScript, the most commonly used programming language, for its Compute@Edge platform in July 2021. Running JavaScript in serverless environments typically runs into speed-related constraints (cold starts causing 250+ millisecond latency) and security issues as more functions are required. Fastly claims its platform overcomes both constraints by using WebAssembly, which it reports is 100x faster than standard serverless tech such as reusable containers and also offers a unique isolation sandbox technology to enhance security. 

In November 2022, Fastly launched its Edge Observability product line, offering real-time data insights, 30-day free trials, customizable logging, extensive integrations, and more.

In February 2023, Fastly introduced a Managed Security Service to shield enterprises from increasing web application attacks, enhancing protection against online threats and bolstering cybersecurity measures for businesses.

In April 2024 , the company introduced a new tool named "Fastly Bot Management" to protect organizations from automated bot attacks at the network edge, including fraud, distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, and account takeovers.

Key customers and partnerships

Fastly provides integrations with most major cloud providers including AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and Oracle. 

Fastly caters to many industries, including online retail, digital publishing, financial services, and online education. Some notable enterprise clients are USA Today Network, Ticketmaster, Stripe, Doordash, BuzzFeed, Lonely Planet, Imgur, The Guardian, Foursquare, WikiHow, and Yelp.

Funding and financials

Fastly generated USD 505.9 million in 2023 in revenue; however, it was yet to turn profitable as it recorded a non-GAAP operating loss of USD 36.7 million. The company guided for revenue to reach USD 580 million–590 million in 2024 (up 15%–17% YoY).