FFIV

F5, Inc.

A maker of software and hardware that keeps websites and apps fast, secure, and online, F5 sells products like BIG-IP, NGINX, and Distributed Cloud Services to businesses, governments, and service providers around the world. It was founded in Seattle in 1996 as F5 Labs by Jeffrey Hussey, launching its flagship BIG-IP load balancer in 1997. The name comes from the Fujita tornado scale—F5 being the most powerful category—meant to evoke the sheer force of traffic its devices could handle.