Inktomi 116
content across a host of distributed servers to be used in clustered or distributed load-balancing. Fast Forward
developed software for the distribution of live streaming media over the Internet using "app-level" multicast
technology. eScene Networks developed software that provided an integrated workflow for the management and
publishing of video content (now owned by Media Publisher, Inc.). With this combination of technologies, Inktomi
became an "arms merchant" to a growing number of content delivery network (CDN) service providers. Inktomi
stock peaked with a split-adjusted price of $241 a share in March 2000.
In earlier acquisitions Inktomi acquired C2B and Impulse Buy Networks, both companies which had pioneered the
comparison shopping space and that had pioneered the performance-based marketing market, with over 4 million
products registered in the service in 1998, and serving millions of merchandise product offers daily across 20,000
websites including Yahoo!, MSN, and AOL shopping. Merchants paid a percentage of sales and or a cost per click
for traffic sent to their websites—ultimately this model became known as pay per click and was perfected by Google
and Overture Services, Inc.
With the financial collapse of the service provider industry and overall burst of the dot-com bubble, Inktomi lost
most of its customer base. In 2002, Inktomi board brought in turnaround expert and long term media investor Keyur
Patel and restructured the organization to focus back on search and divest from non core assets. This move turned
out to be brilliant and led ultimately to be acquired by Yahoo! in 2002 for $1.63 a share (or $235 million). In a
separate transaction, the Ultraseek Server product (renamed Inktomi Enterprise Search) was sold to competitor
Verity, Inc. in late 2002.
In 2006, the technology behind the Inktomi Proxy Server was acquired by Websense, which has modified it and
included it their Websense Security Gateway solution.
In 2009, Yahoo! asked to enter Traffic Server into incubation with the Apache Incubator, which was accepted in
July. The original Inktomi Traffic Server source, with additional Yahoo! modifications, was donated to the open
source community that same year. In April 2010, the Apache Traffic Server[3] top-level project was officially
created, marking the official acceptance of the new project.Acquisitions
In September 1998 Inktomi acquired C2B Technologies,[4] adding a shopping engine technology to its portfolio; In
April 1999 Inktomi acquired Impulse Buy Network, adding 400 merchants to its shopping engine and performance
based business shopping model. [5]; in November 1999 Inktomi acquired Webspective; in August 2000 Inktomi
acquired Ultraseek Server from Disney's Go.com; in September, 2000, Inktomi acquired FastForward Networks;[2]
in December 2000, Inktomi acquired the Content Bridge Business Unit from Adero, a content delivery network,
which had formed the Content Bridge Alliance with Inktomi, AOL and a number of other ISPs, hosting providers
and IP transport providers; and in June 2001 Inktomi acquired eScene Networks. Webspective developed technology
for synchronizing and managing content across a host of distributed servers to be used in clustered or distributed
load-balancing. Fast Forward developed software for the distribution of live streaming media over the Internet using
"app-level" multicast technology. eScene Networks developed software that provided an integrated workflow for the
management and publishing of video content (now owned by Qumu, Inc.). With this combination of technologies,
Inktomi became an "arms merchant" to a growing number of Content Delivery Network (CDN) service providers.