Dallas Venture Capital Backs Alkira Cloud-Networking Platform

Enterprise networking was overdue for a reinvention. At Alkira, Inc., we’ve spent the last several years solving the "hard" connectivity problems of the cloud era by building the world’s first on-demand network infrastructure deployed as a service. Today, we take that innovation to a global stage. 𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 Lumen Technologies 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗿𝗮. By integrating our cloud-native DNA with one of the world’s largest fiber networks, we are building a single digital platform specifically engineered for the requirements of the AI era. 𝗧𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀: Our priority is unwavering stability and continuity. Your platform, support teams, and contracts remain exactly as they are today. We remain fully committed to our roadmap and to being the most reliable partner in your infrastructure journey. 𝗧𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗿𝗮 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺: You didn’t just build a product; you built a category. This milestone is a testament to the engineers, architects, and visionaries who believed that networking could be better. We are excited to keep that culture of fast-paced innovation alive as we scale alongside Lumen. Until the close of the transaction (expected Q3 2026 subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions), Alkira and Lumen will continue to operate as separate, independent companies. 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: https://hubs.li/Q04fxx6W0

Exciting news! Lumen Technologies + Alkira, it's official. 🎉 We've signed an agreement to bring these two powerhouses together. Thank you to our customers for your trust, and to the entire Alkira team for building something truly special. A huge thank you to our founders Atif Khan and Amir K., and to Kate Johnson and Jim Fowler at Lumen Technologies for making this possible. So glad to be part of Alkira and this incredible journey. This is just the beginning. More to come.

Exciting move by Lumen!!! Lumen + Alkira is a clear statement that Lumen is building a platform that helps customers actually control and simplify their environments. We’re continuing to evolve well beyond a traditional telco.

Lumen Technologies 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗿𝗮! Leveraging Alkira’s cloud-native orchestration platform across Lumen’s extensive network, existing cloud on-ramps, deep-peering and programmable infrastructure is a powerful combination for enterprises looking to connect across clouds, data centers, SaaS, and the edge! I'm still trying to gauge the full impact. With the Secure Edge moving away from the prem, does this diminish the need for the SD-WAN layer?

Wow, this is an amazing acquisition! It will definitely level up Lumen Technologies’ Multi-Cloud Networking (MCN) game. It’s interesting to see the carriers like Lumen seeking more solutions in the MCN space with acquisitions like this one, validation that MCN is very much a “thing” and important to enterprise. I’ve written about Alkira, Inc. and the cool stuff they do on behalf of Techstrong.IT here: https://lnkd.in/gbN9pkqz If you want to check out the Alkira presentation at Tech Field Day #CFD14 about how their platform works and the problems it solves straight from the horses mouth, go here: https://lnkd.in/gNYpnPM3

Is private 5G ready to power the future of enterprise networking? At MWC Barcelona 2026, industry experts from Cisco, LIONS Technology, Airspan, Capgemini and Rakuten Symphony highlighted how private 5G, combined with edge computing and AI, is enabling more secure, resilient, and real-time operations, while noting that simplifying deployment and integration remains key to widespread adoption. Read more in our blog post: https://lnkd.in/eT3n6Z3v

Can Private 5G and Wi-Fi coexist? How do we solve the IT/OT divide? And what is the true ROI of 5G? These were the big questions at #MWC this year. Our CEO Anju Day joined experts from Cisco, Airspan Networks, and Capgemini to break down the state of Private 5G. Anju’s takeaway: It’s all about predictability and business outcomes. 🎯 Check out the highlights from Rakuten Symphony's session below.

Having spent the last few days at Extreme Connect 2026 and had the opportunity to provide ARO’s perspective to the technical advisory council, one thing is very clear, the networking conversation is shifting away from infrastructure management and firmly toward operational outcomes powered by AI. Roughly two years ago, I described Platform One as the North Star of products and one which wisemen will surely follow. Having experienced the main stage message and had it dissected in detail in the TAC, the biggest takeaway for me wasn’t necessarily the hardware announcements or even the expansion of Wi-Fi 7, it was the maturity of the Platform ONE and Agent ONE strategy and how intentionally Extreme is going to simplify operations across increasingly complex environments. Platform ONE now feels much more like a true operational layer rather than just another management console. In terms of AI the genie is out of the bottle and nobody’s putting it back. The ability to unify wired, wireless, fabric, SD-WAN, security, policy and third-party environments into a single operational experience addresses a challenge most enterprise teams are dealing with today, too many tools, too many dashboards and not enough actionable intelligence. What stood out technically was the focus on visibility and operational context. You can’t contextualise or control what you cannot see. Networks are now an important utility like water, electricity or HVAC and have accelerated well beyond just being transport. The Agent ONE “Coworker” announcement is clearly designed to evolve beyond chatbot-style interactions into something far more operationally aware and proactive. Regardless of whether it’s a nudge or a tickle? Instead of waiting for administrators to query the system, the platform is moving toward identifying issues, correlating impact, recommending remediation and eventually automating execution within defined guardrails. Users, devices, applications and the way they interact are now datapoints in their own right, and when combined with the power of AI allow unimaginable capabilities. That shift from reactive operations to assisted and eventually autonomous operations is going to fundamentally change how NetOps and support teams work over the next few years. In reality most enterprises are not greenfield, and operational simplification only works if platforms can provide visibility and consistency across mixed estates. The announcements around third-party support now mean Platform ONE is able to utilise datapoints from more than just “Purple Tin” and visibility is no longer constrained to one eye. Overall, Extreme Connect 2026 felt less like a traditional networking conference and more like a view into where enterprise operations are heading next, events like this, participation in the TAC and the genuine human connections with those in attendance mean ARO is able to assist clients in achieving their outcomes irrespective of size, scale, vertical or complexity.

Autonomous networking has transitioned from aspiration to necessity for organizations facing growing network complexity, unpredictable traffic, and operational challenges that hinder business speed. A global organization reached a breaking point, where manual processes introduced friction and risk. In response, they partnered with Equinix. Collaborating with Equinix’s specialized solution architects, the team shifted from reactive network management to an AI-driven strategy that embedded intelligence directly into their connectivity foundation. The results were immediate: Before: Siloed infrastructure and limited visibility. After: Self-optimizing, AI-powered networks that predict demand, enhance performance in real time, and scale confidently, unlocking resilience and accelerating innovation. The transformation was supported by the Equinix Advantage, which includes: - A truly global footprint - Industry-leading interconnection density - Software-defined infrastructure designed for autonomy at scale These capabilities transformed connectivity into a strategic asset. For the full transformation story, visit: https://lnkd.in/eckRxzzr If exploring how AI and autonomous networking can facilitate your next phase of growth, let's connect. #Equinix #CustomerSuccess #DigitalTransformation #AIInfrastructure #Networking #EnterpriseIT

As technology continues to evolve, so do customers' expectations for their network. While innovation drives many environments forward, a large part of the market still depends on something equally critical: reliable, predictable, and easy-to-operate networks. Across small business and mid-market seg... https://hpe.to/6048BBwvIE