Story perspectives

Daniel Lewin’s Akamai Helped Keep Sites Running During 9/11

By Drooid · Sep 11, 2026, 12:09 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Daniel Lewin confronted hijackers on American Airlines Flight 11, becoming the first person killed in the 9/11 attacks.
Lewin co-founded Akamai Technologies in 1998 with MIT professor Tom Leighton, Jonathan Seelig, and Randall Kaplan.
He earned two Technion degrees in 1995 and served as a captain in Israel’s Sayeret Matkal.
Akamai’s content-delivery network kept sites online during the 9/11 traffic surge.
Akamai’s market value is about $15 billion.

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Story summary

Daniel Lewin confronted hijackers on American Airlines Flight 11, becoming the first person killed in the 9/11 attacks.
Lewin co-founded Akamai Technologies in 1998 with MIT professor Tom Leighton, Jonathan Seelig, and Randall Kaplan.
He earned two Technion degrees in 1995 and served as a captain in Israel’s Sayeret Matkal.
Akamai’s content-delivery network kept sites online during the 9/11 traffic surge.
Akamai’s market value is about $15 billion.