NS1
Acquired9 known investors
IBM NS1 Connect is a managed DNS and traffic management service that uses real-time performance, health, and geographic data to route users to optimal endpoints across distributed infrastructure. It offers a global anycast network, intelligent traffic steering, multi-CDN routing, DDoS resilience, and API-first/infrastructure-as-code automation for DevOps teams.
Also known as IBM NS1 Connect · NS1 Connect · NSONE
Founders & leadership
Investors · 9
Also in the syndicate · 1
Company profile
researched Aug 2026NS1 is a New York-headquartered provider of network automation SaaS and managed DNS. Its software-defined application networking stack modernizes DNS, DHCP and IPAM to provide automation, visibility and control across heterogeneous environments, automating the deployment and delivery of heavily trafficked internet and enterprise applications. The company was acquired by IBM and its service is marketed as IBM NS1 Connect.
The IBM NS1 Connect service turns DNS into a real-time traffic decision layer, routing users to endpoints based on real-time performance, availability and geography. It runs on a global anycast network of 26+ points of presence across six continents and offers intelligent traffic steering, multi-CDN steering, global server load balancing, real-time endpoint health checks and automated failover, DNS observability and DNS Insights reporting, resilience for authoritative DNS during volumetric DNS DDoS attacks, and automated HTTPS redirects and certificate management. The platform is API-first, integrating with Terraform, Ansible and CI/CD workflows for infrastructure-as-code provisioning, and the company publishes open-source clients and SDKs for Go, Python, JavaScript and PHP, plus Ansible modules, a cert-manager ACME webhook and Private DNS utilities.
Founding story
NS1 was conceived in 2012 by Kris Beevers, Jonathan Sullivan and Alex Vayl, who sought to rebuild DNS into a tool for software reliability and cost savings; the initial concept was sketched on a napkin in a New York City bar and prototyped in just under two dozen lines of Python. The founders met through Voxel, a New York hosting, colocation, CDN and DNS startup founded by Raj Dutt and acquired by Internap in December 2011, where Beevers served as principal software architect and worked on traffic steering across Voxel's CDN.
Business model
SaaS subscription for managed DNS and network automation services, sold to enterprises; the service is offered with a free trial and a 100% SLA, with add-on modules such as DNS Insights.
Subscription-based enterprise software-as-a-service, with optional paid add-ons layered on the core managed DNS and traffic management service.
Traction
New customer bookings grew 159% year over year in Q1 2020, and the company served more than 600 enterprise customers worldwide at that time. Published case study results include 10-15% reduced DNS latency for Dropbox's global users (about 200 milliseconds for long-tail users), 100% uptime for Catchpoint and IO River, traffic steering across 30+ CDNs for GlobalDots, and support for Netlify's platform of 60M+ apps and 12M+ developers.
Latest developments
IBM NS1 Connect introduced DNS Insights in the NS1 Connect Portal as a customer add-on, promotes multi-provider DNS resilience patterns with Amazon Route 53 and Cloudflare, and received the 2025 G2 Best Hosting Software award. NetBox Labs, which separated from NS1 during the IBM acquisition, raised $20 million in 2023.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
Described by investor Energy Impact Partners as the leading next-generation DNS platform, with more than 600 enterprise customers worldwide as of mid-2020 and a 2025 G2 Best Hosting Software award for IBM NS1 Connect.
Positions DNS as a programmable real-time traffic control plane rather than static resolution, using live performance and availability data for routing decisions, backed by a 100% SLA, API-first automation, and interoperability with other DNS providers such as Amazon Route 53 and Cloudflare for multi-provider resilience.
Technology
A globally distributed anycast DNS network with 26+ points of presence across six continents, combined with intelligent traffic steering that uses real-time performance telemetry, health checks and geographic data. Capabilities include filter chains, ASN-based routing, multi-CDN and global server load balancing, DDoS-resilient authoritative DNS, automated HTTPS redirects and certificate management, and an API-first control plane with Terraform, Ansible and CI/CD integrations, plus Pulsar real-time user measurement and route map tooling.
Go-to-market
Direct enterprise sales supported by free trials, live demos, interactive demos, webinars and published customer case studies; partner and channel reach was cited as a motivation for strategic investors such as Cisco and Dell, and the company maintains open-source SDKs and integrations to reach developer and DevOps users.
Enterprises and technology companies operating distributed, multi-cloud and multi-CDN infrastructure, including DevOps and networking teams. Named customers include LinkedIn, Dropbox, Pitney Bowes, Bleacher Report, The Guardian, Netlify, Catchpoint, GlobalDots and IO River.
Geography
Headquartered in New York City, serving customers worldwide from an anycast network of 26+ points of presence distributed across six continents.
History
The idea originated from CDN traffic-steering work at Voxel around 2012 and gained momentum a few years later after an outage at a competitor left hundreds of websites unreachable. The company raised a $40 million Series D in July 2020 led by Energy Impact Partners, bringing total funding to $125 million, with existing investors including Cisco and Dell participating; EIP partner Shawn Cherian joined the board. IBM announced plans to acquire NS1 in February 2023 as its second acquisition of that year, with NS1 employees joining IBM Software and NetBox Labs separating from NS1 as part of the transaction, with IBM taking an investor stake in NetBox Labs.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 4
launches, deals, and filingsIBM NS1 Connect received the 2025 G2 Best Hosting Software award for DNS hosting and traffic management.
IBM NS1 Connect introduced DNS Insights, available as an add-on providing additional DNS visibility for customers.
IBM announced plans to acquire NS1, a provider of network automation SaaS solutions, to strengthen its network automation portfolio for hybrid multicloud environments. The transaction was expected to close in the first half of 2023, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory clearances; NS1 employees were to join IBM Software. Financial terms were not disclosed. NetBox Labs separated from NS1 as part of the transaction, with IBM becoming an investor in NetBox Labs.
NS1 raised $40 million in Series D funding led by Energy Impact Partners with participation from existing investors including Cisco and Dell, bringing total funding to $125 million. EIP partner Shawn Cherian joined the board of directors. Proceeds were earmarked for product innovation and expanded engineering capacity.
$40M source ↗
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- NS1ns1.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does NS1 do?
- NS1 is a network automation and managed DNS provider, acquired by IBM and now offered as IBM NS1 Connect.
- Who founded NS1?
- NS1 was founded by Alex Vayl.
- Who are NS1's investors?
- NS1's investors include Cisco Investments, Energy Impact Partners, Entrée Capital, Flybridge Capital Partners, Founder Collective, Mango Capital, Notable Capital, Titanium Ventures.