F5 Networks Leaps Into DevOps With $670M Nginx Acquisition

F5 Networks made a big leap into software for cloud-based applications with its $670 million acquisition of Nginx. The move reinforces F5 Networks’ continued evolution from a hardware company to one oriented around services and software with a broader reach in the market.Nginx’s open-source web server for multi-cloud architecture powers more than 374 million websites, including many of the most popular sites online today. The San Francisco-based company was founded in 2011 and raised $103 million in venture capital funding before F5 Networks came calling.F5 Networks plans to keep the Nginx brand alive and fuel further investment in software application delivery and API management. Nginx CEO Gus Robertson and founders Igor Sysoev and Maxim Konovalov will also join F5 and maintain operations in San Francisco.“We believe every organization can benefit from the agility and flexibility enabled by modern technologies without compromising on security, manageability, and reliability,” F5 Networks CEO Francois Locoh-Donou said in a news release. “The combined company will enable every customer — from the app developer to the network engineer to the security specialist — with the tools they need to ensure their apps are available and secure across every platform, from the enterprise data center to private and public clouds.