IPFS

What IPFS does

IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) is a decentralized storage and content-addressed networking protocol founded in 2014, governed by the IPFS Foundation and operated out of Palo Alto, California. Its core technology uses cryptographic Content Identifiers (CIDs) to address data by content rather than location, enabling peer-to-peer distribution across a global network of nodes and eliminating single points of failure inherent in centralized storage. The primary public-facing product is the ipfs.io Public Gateway, which bridges the traditional HTTP web and the IPFS protocol by running Rainbow (an implementation of the IPFS HTTP Gateway API), retrieving IPFS content and serving it via standard HTTP. A secondary gateway, dweb.link, provides the same functionality. The gateways support trustless content verification, HTTP Range requests up to 5GiB via Cloudflare CDN, and content removal through the Bad Bits denylist.

The protocol is maintained by Interplanetary Shipyard on behalf of the IPFS Foundation, with infrastructure funded by donors supporting digital public infrastructure. IPFS operates on a freemium public-good model: the gateway is provided free of charge on an as-is basis, and no commercial pricing tiers or subscription plans are disclosed. Customer segments include web users and developers (primary), businesses and organizations seeking decentralized storage for data sovereignty, and — through a minor-tier partnership with Dyad — insurance and fintech companies integrating IPFS for embedded payments and content provenance. Go-to-market is community-led, relying on GitHub, the IPFS Forum, Filecoin Slack, and developer documentation rather than traditional sales channels.

The project has no disclosed commercial revenue model. Its only documented funding event dates to March 2016 with backing from Digital Currency Group and FundersClub. As a result, IPFS functions primarily as digital public infrastructure rather than a commercially monetized entity, with its strategic value embedded in the protocol's role as foundational infrastructure for the decentralized web.

Name

IPFS

Legal name

IPFS Foundation

Website

https://ipfs.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

IPFS is a decentralized, content-addressed storage protocol governed by the IPFS Foundation and operated by Interplanetary Shipyard, providing free public gateways (ipfs.io, dweb.link) that bridge HTTP browsers to the IPFS peer-to-peer network for developers, web users, and select enterprise segments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Decentralized Storage Protocol

NAICS

Wired and Wireless Telecommunications (except Satellite) (5171)

SIC

Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373), Computer Communications Equipment (3576)

akta.pro primary industry

Decentralized Storage Networks (IPFS/Filecoin/Arweave, archival & retrieval) (FSAPALAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Cloud Connectivity & Interconnect (Cloud On-Ramps, IX, Cross-Connects) (HDAIAFAF)

Keywords

• Decentralized storage
• Content addressing
• Peer-to-peer protocol
• Public gateway
• Distributed web infrastructure

Headquarters

HQ city

Palo Alto

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Public Infrastructure Funding: IPFS operates as a public good with the ipfs.io gateway provided free of charge. The project is funded by contributions from donors who wish to support digital public infrastructure. No commercial revenue model is directly disclosed.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) is a decentralized storage and content-addressed networking protocol that distributes files across a peer-to-peer network using cryptographic content identifiers. The ipfs.io and dweb.link public gateways act as bridges between the traditional HTTP web and the IPFS protocol, retrieving IPFS content and serving it via standard HTTP for any web browser. The gateways are maintained by Interplanetary Shipyard on behalf of the IPFS Foundation and provided as a free public utility.

Product overview

IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) is a decentralized storage and content-addressed networking protocol. The IPFS.io Public Gateway is the primary public-facing product offering — a free gateway service that bridges the traditional HTTP web with the decentralized IPFS network. It listens for IPFS content requests, retrieves content via IPFS using the Rainbow implementation, and serves it via standard HTTP. The gateway supports trustless content verification, HTTP Range requests (up to 5GiB), and content removal via the Bad Bits denylist. The gateway is maintained by Interplanetary Shipyard on behalf of the IPFS Foundation and is intended as a public good for accessing the decentralized web.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• dweb.link: A public IPFS gateway for accessing decentralized web content

Products and services

• IPFS.io Public Gateway A free public gateway that bridges traditional HTTP web browsers and the IPFS decentralized protocol. It listens for IPFS content requests, retrieves content via IPFS using the Rainbow implementation, and serves it over HTTP. Supports trustless content verification with CID checks and HTTP Range requests up to 5GiB via Cloudflare CDN.
• dweb.link Public Gateway A secondary public gateway operated by the IPFS team with the same functionality as ipfs.io, providing free HTTP access to IPFS content globally.

Quantifiable outcome

• Files up to 5GiB supported for HTTP Range requests via Cloudflare CDN

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Interplanetary ShipyardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInterplanetary Shipyard maintains the ipfs.io and dweb.link public gateways on behalf of the IPFS Foundation. They manage the digital public infrastructure, handle community relations through Filecoin Slack and GitHub, and coordinate gateway operations and funding from donors supporting digital public infrastructure.
• IPFS FoundationcoreOthersThe IPFS Foundation is the governing body for the IPFS project. The public gateways are operated on behalf of the foundation, which receives funding from donors supporting digital public infrastructure.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Pinata: Pinata is a commercial IPFS pinning and file management service that lets developers persist and serve content on the IPFS network. It is a direct commercial analogue for the public gateway function IPFS.io provides.
• Arweave: Arweave is a decentralized storage network offering permanent, one-time-fee data storage using a content-addressed model similar to IPFS. It directly competes for the same Web3 permanent-storage use cases that IPFS gateways enable.
• Filecoin: Filecoin is a decentralized storage network that builds on IPFS as its underlying content-addressing protocol and operates the largest commercial storage market layered on top of it. It is the most direct comparison for IPFS's protocol-level value and gateway ecosystem.
• Sia: Sia is a decentralized cloud storage marketplace that rents storage from a global network of hosts. Like IPFS, it pursues censorship-resistant, distributed storage, although its commercial model differs.
• Fleek: Fleek is a Web3 hosting and edge platform built natively on IPFS that offers pinning, gateways, and ENS-integrated hosting. It targets the same developer and decentralized-web audience as the IPFS public gateways.
• Storj: Storj is a decentralized cloud storage network offering encrypted, distributed object storage with a commercial SLA-backed product. It competes with IPFS/Filecoin for the decentralized storage use case.

Emerging players

• Consensys (Infura): Consensys, through Infura, offers IPFS API and gateway infrastructure alongside its Ethereum developer tooling. It overlaps with the IPFS gateway/pinning market with a more enterprise-oriented commercial posture.
• Helia: Helia is a JavaScript implementation of IPFS for the browser and Node.js, including the inbrowser.link Service Worker gateway. It is an emerging alternative runtime that competes with the IPFS Foundation's Rainbow gateway for trustless, client-side retrieval.

Broad incumbents

• Cloudflare: Cloudflare operates a public IPFS gateway alongside its broader CDN and edge platform, and is the CDN provider behind ipfs.io. It is the most significant incumbent operating in the same gateway/retrieval layer.
• Amazon S3: Amazon S3 is the dominant centralized object storage service used by enterprises as an alternative to decentralized storage. It is the broad incumbent against which IPFS's decentralization and content-addressing benefits are pitched.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ipfsbot
• GitHubgithub.com/ipshipyard
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ipshipyard
• Facebookfacebook.com/protocollabs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about IPFS