Akamai Reports Q1 Results and $1.8 Billion AI Cloud Deal

CEO Tom Leighton joined CNBC's Squawk Box to discuss the earnings and the agreement with major enterprise customers. The company said it maintains a very strong pipeline of major enterprise customers. Leighton, who is also a co-founder of Akamai, outlined details of the quarterly performance and the AI-related contract.

The $1.8 billion deal is expected to contribute to future revenue. It reflects growing demand for cloud services tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Q1 results come as the broader technology sector continues to see investment in AI capabilities. The company did not release specific revenue or earnings figures in the segment but indicated the quarter met internal expectations. Leighton emphasized the strength of the customer pipeline during the interview.

This pipeline includes large enterprises seeking to expand their use of cloud computing resources.

The $1.8 billion AI cloud deal represents a significant commitment from customers. It covers delivery of specialized cloud services designed to support artificial intelligence workloads. Akamai positions itself as a provider of secure and distributed cloud infrastructure.

The agreement is part of broader industry efforts to scale computing resources for AI applications. The company will report further financial details in its official earnings release and filings with regulators.