Akamai Technologies is a content-delivery and cloud services company that was founded in 1998. Akamai is in the top three in total patent documents for edge computing in the last three years with 26 total documents, behind only Intel and Cisco. Akamai has also seen insight focus before for its strong push in the Blockchain category of Edge Computing (Check out the insight here: Akamai Makes a Push with Blockchain).
Akamai acquired Asavie, an Irish technology company that makes mobile and IoT software solutions, for an undisclosed amount on October 27th, 2020. This acquisition is meant to help Akamai's 5G security division, but could also be helpful for the intersection of edge computing and 5G in the communications category.
Akamai only has five total documents in the communications category over the last three years, but four of those are issued patents and the communications category has a lot of white space for Akamai to continue to build off those patents. Even though Akamai previously garnered attention for its blockchain push, communications may present an even more lucrative space to expand in with 5G gaining traction and offering new possibilities for edge computing. Akamai is also well-positioned financially to capitalize on the new remote work status quo caused by the pandemic, as well as the increasing adoption of these new technologies. This is evidenced by increased interest by investors due to its opportunities and strong revenue potential.
Edge Computing is still a rapidly growing sector with a lot of development room, but the white space in communications may be the most interesting category to watch in the coming months as Akamai and other companies attempt to establish leadership in the category. To see more about the new patents being issued in the space and keep an eye on companies to watch, check out the Magic Number® Edge Computing Patent Forecast®!
