A CMO’s Perspective: Why This Moment Matters in the AI Era

What an exhilarating couple of weeks it has been! For some time, we’ve been looking for the right moment to declare that Akamai is a significant player in AI infrastructure. 

Some may ask, “What were you waiting for?” My answer is simple: We waited until we delivered real innovation, validated by real customers. We’ve seen plenty of “AI-washing.” Buzz without basis. That’s never been — and will never be — Akamai. 

As Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Akamai, I have the privilege of shepherding one of the most important brands in the world — one with a culture rooted in deep technical and academic brilliance. It’s in our DNA. From our very first days in the labs at MIT, where Tom Leighton and Danny Lewin imagined what was to become Akamai, we’ve been a company of problem-solvers and inventors.

But if I’m honest, that also brings one of my biggest challenges (and I know some of my fellow CMOs can relate). It’s not just about telling the world how the technology we’ve built works; it’s also about helping people understand why it matters by translating technical innovation into human impact, taking credit for the largest space in which we are credible —and making sure the world knows it.

That’s especially true now, in this pivotal moment for Akamai, as we radically rethink and extend the systems needed to unlock AI's true potential. 

Although distributed AI inference is essential to unlocking AI’s true potential, it’s important to understand what that means. My brilliant colleagues can (and will) explain how our new platform, Akamai Inference Cloud, extends AI inference to the edge in beautifully technical terms, such as: 

Akamai Inference Cloud is redefining where and how AI is used by expanding inference from core data centers to the edge of the internet. Unlike traditional systems this platform is purpose-built to provide low-latency, real-time edge AI processing on a global scale. 

The platform uses Akamai’s expertise in globally distributed architectures and NVIDIA® Blackwell AI infrastructure to rethink and extend the accelerated computing needed to unlock AI's true potential.

Here’s what that means in plain language:

We are bringing the “brains” of AI closer to where people, devices, and experiences actually are — instead of running them far away in a distant data center. This proximity, which only Akamai offers, combined with NVIDIA’s AI infrastructure, allows AI to make decisions, deliver insights, and power interactive experiences instantly — unlocking the real value behind a new generation of applications.

The following quote from Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA, was a dream come true for a CMO. And I couldn’t agree more about the opportunity ahead for two incredible companies. 

As he put it: “Inference has become the most compute-intensive phase of AI — demanding real-time reasoning at planetary scale. Together, NVIDIA and Akamai are moving inference closer to users everywhere, delivering faster, more scalable generative AI and unlocking the next generation of intelligent applications.”

In typical Akamai fashion, some of our customers are already using Akamai Inference Cloud to power AI at the edge, closer to users. These amazing use cases include:

• Streaming without limits
• Smarter live production
• Immersive gaming
• Virtual try-ons
• Adaptive toys

Harmonic uses Akamai Inference Cloud to stream crystal-clear 8K video in any language so viewers can see literally every detail, instantly and seamlessly. Wow!

Monks taps Akamai Inference Cloud to capture the best shots from multiple live cameras at sporting events. This creates hyper-personalized viewing experiences that also help creators focus on storytelling, not switching feeds.

One of the world’s biggest gaming companies uses Akamai to power chatbots that understand you. Picture games that grow with you, in which worlds evolve, characters feel real, challenges adapt to your skill, and you interact in real time through speech, translation, and dynamic AI that makes every moment feel alive.

Mobile shopping apps use Akamai Inference Cloud to create fitting rooms that make online shopping feel real. Imagine logging into your favorite store’s website and virtually trying on unlimited outfits, perfectly sized and styled for you, with just a few photos or videos. 

The AI acts like a personal shopper with infinite inventory, using computer vision to understand your look, your dimensions, and your taste so you can mix, match, and build the perfect wardrobe anytime, anywhere, in seconds.

Akamai powers AI-driven toys that learn and evolve. Imagine a toy that knows what makes your child light up, responds naturally instead of using pre-recorded lines, and grows with them over time. 

These toys blend the physical and virtual: A doll or action figure can become a living character in a digital world, creating avatars, new stories, and immersive experiences that adapt to your child’s voice, play style, and imagination. And that can turn playtime into something truly magical.

We began by making the internet faster through content delivery, helping organizations reach users everywhere with speed and reliability. As the digital world grew, we expanded into security, protecting applications and data at every touchpoint without compromising performance. 

Then came cloud computing, empowering customers to build and scale with flexibility, power, and affordability.

And now, we’re doing it again — this time with AI.

AI is transforming how the world connects with one another and how digital experiences come to life. But to unlock its full potential, it must be fast, reliable, and safe. And it must run where it matters most.

That’s what Akamai was built for.

Our mission and purpose remain the same: to power and protect life online and to make it better for billions of people, trillions of times a day.

That’s what drives Akamai. That’s what drives me as Akamai’s CMO. 

And that’s how Akamai will change the world again, this time bringing AI inference to the edge — closer to people and the moments that matter most.