WhereIsAtlas · Networking

Linksys

The router company that made home Wi-Fi ordinary — and gave the world a hackable $60 router

Acquired — Started as DEW International in a Californian garage, became the household name in home Wi-Fi, then passed through Cisco, Belkin and Foxconn. Since January 2025 it has been wholly owned by the cybersecurity firm Fortinet.

Linksys began as DEW International, founded in 1988 by Janie and Victor Tsao — a married couple who had emigrated from Taiwan and were working as consultants, pairing American technology vendors with Taiwanese manufacturers. They started in the garage of their Irvine, California home, and their first products were not routers at all: printer sharers that let several PCs share one printer.

The Tsaos ran the business part-time until 1992, when they committed to it full time and moved into a proper office. Growth was fast: by 1994 the company had 55 employees and $6.5 million in annual revenue, selling Ethernet hubs, network cards and cables. Microsoft's Windows 95 launch in 1995, with networking built in, expanded the market enormously, and Linksys locked in US retail through Fry's Electronics that year and Best Buy in 1996.

Its breakout came in the late 1990s with the first genuinely affordable multiport router, which turned a corporate product into a home one, and then with consumer Wi-Fi. Linksys shipped its first wireless router in 2001 and the WRT54G followed in 2002 — a cheap router that happened to run Linux, and which hobbyists promptly opened up. That single device seeded the OpenWrt and DD-WRT firmware communities and made Linksys a byword for home networking.

Cisco bought the company in 2003 in a deal reported at around $500 million, when Linksys had 305 employees and more than $500 million in revenue. Cisco expanded it, acquiring VoIP maker Sipura in 2005 and home-network software vendor Pure Networks in 2008, but consumer hardware was never really Cisco's business.

So the ownership began to pass along. Cisco announced in January 2013 that it would sell the home networking division to Belkin, a deal completed that March which handed Belkin roughly 30% of the home router market. In 2018 Foxconn — the Taiwanese manufacturing giant — bought Belkin and its subsidiaries, Linksys included, for $866 million.

The most recent chapter is the one most coverage misses. In 2021 the cybersecurity firm Fortinet began buying in, investing $75 million and then a further $85 million in Linksys preferred stock. On 31 January 2025 Fortinet acquired the remaining preferred shares for $20.8 million, making Linksys wholly owned. Linksys is no longer a Foxconn brand — it is a security company's consumer arm, sold as HomeWRK hardware with Fortinet's protection built into the router.

Timeline

  1. 1988 — DEW International is founded in a garage: Janie and Victor Tsao, Taiwanese emigrants working as US–Taiwan technology consultants, start the company in their Irvine home. First products: printer sharers that let several PCs share a printer. (Irvine, CA)
  2. 1992 — Full time, and a real office: The Tsaos commit to the business full time and move it and its growing staff into a formal office. (Irvine, CA)
  3. 1994 — 55 staff, $6.5m revenue: The company has grown fast on Ethernet hubs, network cards and cables.
  4. 1995 — Windows 95 opens the market: Microsoft ships Windows 95 with built-in networking, expanding demand for home networking gear. Linksys lands its first big US retail channel, Fry's Electronics.
  5. 1996 — Best Buy: A second major US retail channel puts Linksys gear on mainstream shelves. (United States)
  6. late 1990s — The affordable multiport router: Linksys releases the first genuinely cheap multiport router, popularising the brand for home networking.
  7. 2001 — First Wi-Fi router: Linksys ships its first wireless router, moving into consumer Wi-Fi as it matures.
  8. 2002 — The WRT54G: A cheap router that runs Linux. Hobbyists crack it open, and it becomes the foundation of the OpenWrt and DD-WRT firmware movements.
  9. 2003 — Cisco buys Linksys: Cisco acquires the company for about $500m — at the time Linksys has 305 employees and over $500m in revenue.
  10. 2005 — Cisco adds Sipura: Cisco acquires VoIP maker Sipura Technology and folds it into the Linksys product line.
  11. 2008 — Pure Networks acquired: Cisco buys Seattle-based home networking software vendor Pure Networks.
  12. Jan 2013 — Cisco exits the home: Cisco announces it will sell its home networking division and the Linksys brand to Belkin, continuing its retreat from consumer products.
  13. Mar 2013 — Belkin completes the deal: Belkin closes the acquisition, keeping the Linksys brand, products and support — and gaining roughly 30% of the home router market.
  14. 2017 — Velop mesh Wi-Fi: Linksys launches Velop, a multi-unit tri-band mesh system, betting on whole-home coverage.
  15. 2018 — Foxconn buys Belkin: Foxconn, the world's largest electronics manufacturing services provider, acquires Belkin and its subsidiaries — Linksys included — for $866m.
  16. 2019-2020 — Aware and Shield: Linksys Aware uses Wi-Fi signals as a home motion sensor; Linksys Shield adds parental controls as a subscription.
  17. 2021 — Fortinet starts buying in: Fortinet invests $75m in Linksys preferred stock in September, followed by a further $85m, targeting security for home networks and remote work.
  18. 2023 — Global expansion: Linksys opens a development centre in Taipei and a sales and marketing centre in Amstelveen, Netherlands.
  19. 31 Jan 2025 — Fortinet takes full ownership: Fortinet acquires the remaining Series A Preferred Stock for $20.8m, making Linksys wholly owned. Its flagship home product, HomeWRK, runs Fortinet's security stack.

Quick facts

Founded
1988, as DEW International, by Janie & Victor Tsao
First products
Printer sharers, then hubs and network cards
By 1994
55 employees, $6.5m revenue
Signature product
WRT54G router (2002)
Sold to Cisco
2003 (≈ $500m)
Sold to Belkin
2013 (≈30% of the home router market)
Belkin bought by Foxconn
2018 ($866m)
Owned by
Fortinet (wholly owned since Jan 2025)
Legal name
Linksys Holdings, Inc.

Lineage — where the name went

The original name was DEW International. This tree shows what it became, what it made, and the four owners the Linksys brand has passed through.

  1. 1988 — Janie & Victor Tsao founded DEW International
  2. 1990s — DEW International rebranded as Linksys (the company adopted the Linksys name)
  3. 2002 — Linksys created WRT54G
  4. 2017 — Linksys created Velop
  5. 2003 — Linksys acquired by Cisco (reported at around $500m)
  6. 2013 — Linksys acquired by Belkin (from Cisco, as it exited consumer gear)
  7. 2018 — Linksys acquired by Foxconn (acquired with Belkin, which Foxconn bought)
  8. 2025 — Linksys acquired by Fortinet (remaining preferred stock bought for $20.8m)

Entities in this tree: Janie & Victor Tsao (person, 1988); DEW International (company, 1988); Linksys (brand, 1990s); WRT54G (product, 2002); Velop (product, 2017); Cisco (company, 2003); Belkin (company, 2013); Foxconn (company, 2018); Fortinet (company, 2025)

Sources

  1. The Linksys story — Linksys (2026-09-10)
  2. Linksys - Wikipedia — Wikipedia (2026-09-10)
  3. Cisco to buy Linksys for $500 million — The New York Times (2026-09-10)
  4. Linksys brand name survives as Belkin takes over from Cisco — PCWorld (2026-09-10)
  5. Belkin to acquire Linksys from Cisco — The Verge (2026-09-10)
  6. Fortinet eyes bigger stake in Foxconn's Linksys with $85 million deal — MarketScreener / MT Newswires (2026-09-10)
  7. Company profile: Linksys — The Company Check (2026-09-10)

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