Akamai sued Limelight Networks for patent infringement a year before Limelight went public. The two were fighting over the same ground. Limelight ran a global network of servers that moved the internet's heaviest files: video streams, software downloads and web pages. Its customers ranged from video sites to software and game companies. In 2007 online video was exploding, and Limelight was the main challenger to Akamai, the leader in content delivery.

Built for Big Files

Limelight was founded in Arizona in 2001. Its bet was that a new network, built with large data centers and its own fiber links, could deliver rich media more cheaply than older designs. It focused on video and large files, where speed and capacity mattered most. The company won big video customers early and grew quickly alongside them. A few large customers made up much of its revenue.

Edgecast, Edgio, Bankruptcy

Limelight priced its IPO at $15 a share in June 2007 on the Nasdaq, as online video took off. Akamai's lawsuit, filed in 2006, dragged on for years. Pricing pressure kept profits thin, and Limelight never matched the scale or profits of its larger rival. In 2022 Limelight bought Yahoo's Edgecast and renamed itself Edgio. Edgio filed for bankruptcy in 2024.

Cover: On the Stage, plate one from Yvette Guilbert, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a singer on the stage (the limelight).