Cisco acquires ThousandEyes for $1 billion to expand its portfolio of cloud-based software and bolster its cloud offerings

Cisco has acquired network intelligence startup ThousandEyes in a deal reportedly valued at around $1 billion. In a Thursday announcement, the tech giant said the acquisition of the San Francisco-based ThousandEyes would enable the combined companies to provide customers with an end-to-end view into the digital delivery of applications and services.

As part of the acquisition agreement, Cisco said ThousandEyes CEO and co-founder Mohit Lad will take on the role of GM of ThousandEyes, and Co-Founder, CTO Ricardo Oliveira will continue to drive ThousandEyes product vision and innovation strategy.

Before the announcement, ThousandEyes, which had previously raised $110 million in venture funding, helps businesses to see, understand, and improve the experience for every user and every application over any network. The startup also provides tools to help IT teams determine what’s braking or slowing down apps and websites. Prior to this acquisition, Cisco bought Duo Security in 2018 for $2.35 billion to shore up its capabilities in the authentication space.

Founded in 2010 by Mohit Lad and Ricardo Oliveira, ThousandEyes cloud platform offers unmatched vantage points throughout the global Internet and provides immediate visibility into experience for every user and application over any network, so companies can deliver superior digital experiences, modernize their enterprise WAN, and successfully migrate to the cloud. ThousandEyes is central to the global operations of the world’s largest and fastest growing brands, including Comcast, eBay, HP, 100+ of the Global 2000, 60+ of the Fortune 500, 5 of the 6 top US banks, and 20 of the 25 top SaaS companies.

By bringing together Cisco’s strength in network and application performance with ThousandEyes’ visibility into the Internet, customers will now have an end-to-end view into the digital delivery of applications and services over the Internet, allowing them to pinpoint deficiencies and improve network and application performance across enterprise and cloud networks. This acquisition will also empower enterprises to accelerate their digital transformation, no matter where they are in their journey, by delivering comprehensive visibility into applications and services delivered to customers and employees.

“I’m excited to welcome the ThousandEyes team to Cisco,” said Todd Nightingale, senior vice president and general manager, Cisco Enterprise Networking and Cloud. “The combination of Cisco and ThousandEyes will enable deeper and broader visibility to pin-point deficiencies and improve the network and application performance across all networks. This will give customers end-to-end visibility when accessing cloud applications, and Internet Intelligence will improve networking reliability and the overall application experience.”

Cisco will incorporate ThousandEyes’ capabilities across Cisco’s core Enterprise Networking and Cloud, and AppDynamics portfolios to enhance visibility across the enterprise, internet and the cloud. The acquisition is expected to close before the end of Cisco’s Q1 FY’21. ThousandEyes will join Cisco’s newly-formed Networking Services business unit, reporting to Todd Nightingale.