NET

Cloudflare, Inc.

A company that keeps websites fast, safe, and online by acting as a "firewall in the cloud" — routing traffic through its global network to fend off cyberattacks and speed up loading for millions of sites. Co-founders Matthew Prince, Michelle Zatlyn, and Lee Holloway launched it in 2009, building on their earlier Project Honey Pot, which tracked how spammers harvested email addresses. The name came from a friend's suggestion for a "firewall in the cloud," fitting a service that shields and accelerates internet traffic.