Accenture Acquires Downdetector and Speedtest in $1.2B Deal
▼ Summary
– Accenture is acquiring Ookla, the owner of Speedtest and Downdetector, from Ziff Davis for $1.2 billion in cash.
– The acquisition aims to integrate Ookla’s network data products to help clients like telecom providers and governments optimize Wi-Fi and 5G networks.
– Ookla’s platform includes key tools such as Ekahau for network design and RootMetrics for mobile performance monitoring.
– Accenture will use Ookla’s data for applications ranging from AI infrastructure resilience and fraud prevention to smart home analytics and retail optimization.
– Ookla reported 250 million monthly consumer tests, about 430 employees, and generated $230.7 million in revenue with $76.1 million net income in 2025.
In a major strategic move to bolster its network optimization and data analytics capabilities, Accenture has acquired Ookla, the parent company of the widely recognized Speedtest and Downdetector platforms, in a cash transaction valued at $1.2 billion. The global IT services giant purchased the company from Ziff Davis, planning to weave Ookla’s extensive data products directly into its own service portfolio. This integration aims to empower a diverse client base, including communications service providers, government agencies, and hyperscale cloud companies, with enhanced tools to fine tune and manage essential Wi Fi and 5G network infrastructure.
The acquisition encompasses Ookla’s entire suite of platforms. Beyond the consumer facing Speedtest and outage tracking service Downdetector, the deal includes Ekahau for wireless network design and troubleshooting, along with RootMetrics for comprehensive mobile performance monitoring. Accenture envisions leveraging the vast data streams from these services for a multitude of advanced applications. These range from assisting cloud providers in ensuring the robustness of AI and edge computing infrastructure to enabling better fraud detection for financial institutions, smart home analytics for utility companies, and traffic optimization for retail operations.
A senior Accenture executive emphasized the strategic value of the combined offerings. The tools collectively define user experience, rapidly identify service incidents, and facilitate digital workplace transformation through reliable connectivity. In today’s business environment where seamless, low latency access across multiple channels is paramount, these capabilities are considered a competitive imperative for building the high performance digital environments enterprises require.
Ookla’s platforms are supported by massive scale, processing approximately 250 million consumer initiated performance tests each month. The company employs around 430 people and reported substantial financials, with net income reaching $76.1 million on revenue of $230.7 million for the 2025 period. Ziff Davis, which originally purchased Ookla for $15 million back in 2014, anticipates finalizing the sale to Accenture in the next few months. This transaction marks a significant return on investment for the publisher and a substantial expansion of Accenture’s technology and data assets in the critical field of network intelligence.
(Source: Ars Technica)
