Seattle Internet Exchange

What Seattle Internet Exchange does

Seattle Internet Exchange (SIX) is a Washington State nonprofit corporation operating as an IRS 501(c)(6) Internet Exchange Point (IXP), founded in 1997 and headquartered at the Westin Building in Seattle. It provides layer-2 interconnection services that enable member networks to exchange traffic directly via single-mode fiber connections at speeds from 1GbE to 400GbE, eliminating dependence on upstream transit providers. As of 2026, SIX serves 370 ASNs across 438 routers and 371 members, handling 3.70 Tbps of peak traffic over 25+ terabits of connected member capacity through a distributed Arista switching fabric spanning the Westin Building, KOMO Plaza, and Sabey Intergate locations. Core technical offerings include BGP route servers (with RPKI and IRR-based strict filtering, large BGP communities, and prepend communities), blackholing for DDoS mitigation, IPv4/IPv6 and jumbo frame support, and a looking glass plus traffic statistics platform.

The organization is member-governed by an elected board (with seats held by representatives from WBL Services, AWS, Digital Fortress, and former Akamai) and a Technical Advisory Committee. SIX operates without monthly recurring fees; revenue is generated exclusively through one-time port connection fees (10GbE $1,500, 100GbE $7,500, 400GbE $15,000) and voluntary member contributions. Major donors include Amazon ($300,000 in 2021), Netflix, Valve Corporation, Microsoft, Akamai, Riot Games, Packet Clearing House, and others, supplemented by extensive in-kind infrastructure contributions — rack space, UPS-backed electricity, transport fiber, and hardware — from partners such as Sabey Data Centers, Digital Realty, GI Partners, Wave Broadband, Zayo Group, Level 3 Communications, and Astound. The go-to-market motion is community-led: member growth comes via word-of-mouth in the network operator community, PeeringDB presence, NANOG participation, and extension partner relationships (e.g., Wowrack, Reliable Internet) for remote members.

Name

Seattle Internet Exchange

Legal name

Seattle Internet Exchange

Website

https://seattleix.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Seattle Internet Exchange (SIX) is a nonprofit member-governed Internet Exchange Point in Seattle, providing layer-2 interconnection across three sites to 371 member ASNs handling 3.70 Tbps of peak traffic with no monthly fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Internet Exchange Services

akta.pro primary industry

Carrier Interconnection & Peering Exchanges (IXPs, private interconnect, cross-connect) (HDAIAEAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Carrier-Neutral Interconnect & Meet-Me Room (MMR) Services (HDABALAD), Data Center Interconnection (DCI) & Cross-Connects (HDABALAB)

Keywords

• Internet exchange point
• Network interconnection
• BGP route servers
• Peering services
• DDoS blackholing

Headquarters

HQ city

Madrid

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Port Connection Fees: One-time fees for port connections at various speeds (GigE free, 10GbE $1,500, 40GbE, 100GbE $7,500, 400GbE $15,000). No monthly recurring fees charged to members.
2. Member Contributions and Donations: Voluntary donations from members and industry partners. Significant contributions from major tech companies including Amazon ($300,000 in 2021, $76,000 in 2016), Netflix ($75,000 in 2016), Valve Corporation ($20,000 annually), Microsoft ($10,000 annually), and others. Also in-kind contributions of hardware, fiber, electricity, and services.
3. In-Kind Infrastructure Support: Rack space, UPS-backed electricity, fiber connectivity, transit bandwidth, and domain services provided by partner companies. These reduce operational costs rather than generating direct revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Seattle Internet Exchange (SIX) operates a neutral, non-profit Internet Exchange Point providing direct network interconnection in Seattle, Washington. Members connect via port speeds ranging from 1GbE to 400GbE across three downtown Seattle facilities, and may use BGP route servers (with RPKI/IRR filtering) and blackholing services to enable multi-lateral peering and DDoS mitigation.

Product overview

Seattle Internet Exchange (SIX) operates a non-profit Internet Exchange Point providing low-cost interconnection between member networks in the Pacific Northwest. The core offering consists of physical port connections (1G through 400G) at three Seattle-area locations (Westin Building, KOMO Plaza, Sabey Intergate) connected via Arista switches. Route Servers enable simplified peering through BGP route server technology with RPKI and IRR filtering. Blackholing support provides DDoS mitigation. Traffic statistics and monitoring tools provide visibility into network performance. The organization has 371 members, 370 ASNs, 438 routers, and handles peak traffic of 3.70 Tbps with 25+ terabits of connected member capacity.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Seattle Internet Exchange (IXP) Peering Service Core Internet Exchange Point service providing direct network interconnection across three downtown Seattle facilities (Westin Building, KOMO Plaza, Sabey Intergate). Members connect via ports from 1GbE to 400GbE and use the multi-site fabric to peer with other member networks. The service is for ISPs, content and cloud providers, hosting providers, and research/education networks with their own ASN and BGP-speaking routers.
• SIX Route Servers BGP route servers that enable multi-lateral peering at SIX, with RPKI validation, IRR-based filtering, and AS-path prepend support. Members peer with the route server rather than maintaining individual bilateral sessions, simplifying reachability across the SIX ecosystem.
• SIX Blackholing Service Coordinated blackholing service that allows members to mitigate DDoS attacks by announcing specially tagged /32 or /128 prefixes that SIX drops at the fabric, removing attack traffic closest to the source. The service is for network operators who need a fast, community-coordinated response to volumetric DDoS events.
• SIX 400GbE Port Service High-capacity 400GbE port connections on the SIX fabric, available alongside existing 1GbE, 10GbE, 25GbE, 40GbE, 100GbE, and 200GbE port options. Designed for content, cloud, and large transit providers that need to scale beyond 100GbE at the Seattle exchange.

Quantifiable outcome

• Members report 3-5x higher bandwidth costs without peering through the exchange (iGlenn Butler, iFiber Communications testimonial)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Sabey Data CenterscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Provides transport bandwidth, rack space, and UPS backed electricity at Sabey Intergate location. Enables SIX's presence at a third Seattle facility beyond Westin Building and KOMO Plaza.
• Wave (Wave Broadband)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Provides transit bandwidth services and donated fiber between Westin Building, KOMO Plaza, and Sabey Intergate locations since 2017. Critical for interconnecting SIX's distributed infrastructure.
• Zayo GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Donated fiber between Westin Building and Sabey Intergate. Provides critical fiber infrastructure connecting SIX's distributed locations.
• Level 3 Communications / Looking Glass NetworkscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Long-term fiber donor providing connectivity between Westin Building and KOMO Plaza since 2006. One of the foundational infrastructure partners.
• Digital Realty (Sixth & Virginia Properties / Westin Building)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Westin Building management providing rack space and UPS backed electricity. SIX has been hosted at Westin Building since 1997. Core primary location.
• GI Partners (KOMO Plaza)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026KOMO Plaza (Fisher Plaza) management providing rack space and UPS backed electricity for SIX's second major Seattle location.
• EvocativeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Donates UPS backed electricity. In-kind infrastructure contribution supporting SIX's operational costs.
• Isomedia / Colocation NWminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Donates UPS backed electricity. In-kind infrastructure contribution supporting SIX's operational costs.
• Packet Clearing HouseminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Donated Cisco Nexus 3524 in 2014 and $2,100 in 2016. Bill Woodcock serves on SIX Technical Advisory Committee. Provides operational guidance.
• AkamaiminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Conference bridge donations for annual meetings and hardware donations (fiber optic cables, SFPs). Long-time supporter since 2007.
• AstoundminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Transit bandwidth services and donated fiber between Westin Building, KOMO Plaza, and Sabey Intergate starting 2026.
• LunaviminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Donates UPS backed electricity. In-kind infrastructure contribution.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• FranceIX: Non-profit IXP in France co-founded with involvement from Patrick Gilmore. Provides layer-2 peering with route servers and blackholing similar to SIX, operating under a member-governed nonprofit structure.
• DE-CIX (Deutscher Commercial Internet Exchange): Largest non-profit IXP operator globally, operating in Frankfurt and many other metros. Offers similar route server, blackholing, and port-based interconnection services to SIX, but at significantly larger global scale.
• NYIIX (New York International Internet Exchange): Non-profit, neutral IXP operated by TeleGlobe in New York and Los Angeles. Provides direct peering and route server services similar to SIX, targeting regional network operators with a member-driven model.
• AMS-IX (Amsterdam Internet Exchange): One of the world's largest non-profit IXPs, founded in the 1990s. Operates a member-governed model very similar to SIX, providing layer-2 interconnection across multiple European locations. SIX board member Patrick Gilmore was involved in AMS-IX's expansion.
• LINX (London Internet Exchange): Non-profit, member-governed IXP founded in 1994. Operates a similar L2 peering model with route servers and is one of the most established non-profit IXPs worldwide, serving as a strong structural peer to SIX.
• TorIX (Toronto Internet Exchange): Non-profit Canadian IXP in which SIX board member Patrick Gilmore was directly involved in founding. Operates a comparable member-governed model serving a single metro region, making it one of the closest structural analogs to SIX.

Regional players

• MegaIX: Australian commercial-neutral IXP with presence across multiple Australian metros. While more commercial than SIX, it serves as a comparable regional IXP competing for similar content provider and ISP peering traffic in a single country footprint.
• JPIX (Japan Internet Exchange): Non-profit IXP in Japan providing member-governed L2 peering similar to SIX. Operates in a different geography (Tokyo) with comparable community-led governance and route server infrastructure, making it a useful regional analog.

Broad incumbents

• Equinix Internet Exchange: Commercial global interconnection platform with Equinix Fabric offering IXP-style peering bundled with colocation. Operates at vastly greater scale across dozens of metros, competing with SIX for hyperscaler peering traffic and member relationships.
• CoreSite (Open Cloud Exchange): US data center operator (now part of American Tower) offering Open Cloud Exchange interconnection services. Competes with SIX by bundling IX-style peering with colocation and cloud connectivity in major US markets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/seattleix

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Seattle Internet Exchange