Linksys is a widely recognized networking and router brand that has been in the business for decades. It began in 1988 as a private company based in California under the name DEW International. However, it is no longer an independent company. Unlike some of its main competitors, like Asus or Netgear, which are both independent publicly traded companies, or TP-Link, a completely private entity under no one else’s umbrella, Linksys is currently a subsidiary of Fortinet, an American cybersecurity company.
Before coming to Fortinet, Linksys actually had several owners. After Linksys founders Victor Tsao and Janie Tsao ran it as a private company for 15 years, Cisco bought it in 2003 and owned it for a full decade before selling it to smartphone accessories brand Belkin in 2013. Belkin was sold to Foxconn Interconnect Technology (FIT) in 2018, a subsidiary of Hon Hai Technology Group, better known as Foxconn. This made FIT Linksys the new owner.
While Linksys was still under the FIT umbrella, Fortinet invested $75 million in March 2021, making it a 32.6% owner of the router brand. The same year, Fortinet invested an additional $85 million in Cfoompany, increasing its stake to 50.8%. The cybersecurity company purchased the remaining stake in Linksys in 2025 for $20.8 million, making it a 100% owner.
Linksys’ first router wasn’t released until 2000
Linksys is currently one of the leading Wi-Fi router brands, but it didn’t release its first router until 2000, 12 years after its founding. The company’s early products included printer sharing boxes called Multishares, data switches, Ethernet hubs, and network kits. The arrival and growing popularity of home Internet led Linksys to enter the router market. It launched its first broadband router, the EtherFast BEFSR41, designed to allow home customers to easily share a single home Internet connection with multiple devices, and it was a big success.
The company’s first Wi-Fi router was the WRT54G, launched in December 2002. The WRT54G became extremely popular in the United States. It also started the aftermarket router firmware revolution. Because the WRT54G’s router software was based on open source Linux code, Linksys, which had already been sold to Cisco, was forced to disclose its source code. This led to a community of DIYers developing their own firmware for the router and improving its functionality, giving it legendary status in the world of Wi-Fi routers.
Although it has changed hands several times, Linksys still offers Wi-Fi routers. However, its product portfolio has narrowed significantly, and according to the company’s website, in 2026 it appears to only offer products for Internet service providers (ISPs) and mesh Wi-Fi systems for homes. However, you can still find the company’s usual standalone Wi-Fi router and unmanaged Ethernet switches at retailers like Amazon.
