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Key people at Digex.
Founded in 1991 by Doug Humphrey and Mike Doughney, Digex was an early Internet service provider based in Laurel, Maryland, offering online information services, website management, computer facilities management, and administrative consulting. Under the leadership of chief executive officer Christopher McCleary, the telecommunications enterprise served over 2,000 corporate customers with internet access and web hosting, eventually scaling its workforce to 1,455 employees. Backed by notable venture capital investors Grotech Capital and Venrock, the growing public company completed a 1996 initial public offering and increased annual sales from $10,700,000 in 1995 to $168,100,000 by 2000. Intermedia Communications initially acquired the successful business in 1997, but it later spun off as a completely separate publicly traded entity in 1999. The original web hosting enterprise ultimately ceased operations and became defunct following a subsequent corporate acquisition in 2003.
Digex, Inc. was one of the pioneering Internet service providers (ISPs) in the United States, founded in 1991, specializing in web hosting, Internet access, and early streaming media services.[1] It offered commercial web server hosting—essentially inventing the model—served businesses and government clients (including dot.gov sites and mtv.com), and addressed the nascent demand for reliable online infrastructure during the internet's commercial dawn.[1][2] Digex solved critical early problems like dial-up access, dedicated lines, email intermediation, and large-scale webcasting via innovations like ISP-TV, growing rapidly to over 600 employees before its 1996 IPO amid the dot-com boom, only to face a dramatic fall with its stock dropping from $184 to $1 per share post-bubble.[1][2]
Digex traces its roots to 1991 when Doug Humphrey and Mike Doughney founded Digital Express Group in the basement of Humphrey's townhouse in Greenbelt, Maryland, initially offering web hosting and Internet access with just six dial-up phone lines.[1][2] The idea emerged from the need to build commercial internet infrastructure, starting as a sideline for cash flow that quickly scaled: by late 1993, it had over 2,000 users, 100+ dial-up lines, leased lines, and web hosting for high-profile sites like mtv.com (the first entertainment web server in 1993).[2] Pivotal moments included raising $8 million in 1995 from Grotech Capital and Venrock, going public in 1996 with 260 employees, and launching ISP-TV in 1995 for CU-SeeMe-based streaming, producing original content in a Maryland "cyberstudio."[1][2]
Digex stood out in the early internet landscape through these key strengths:
Digex rode the explosive trend of commercializing the internet in the early 1990s, when academic networks transitioned to business use, enabling the first wave of online presence for media (mtv.com) and government.[1][2] Timing was ideal amid rising demand for dial-up, hosting, and streaming just before the 1995-2000 dot-com surge, with market forces like deregulation and hardware advances (e.g., CU-SeeMe) favoring nimble startups over incumbents.[1] It influenced the ecosystem by defining web hosting as a standalone industry, paving the way for modern cloud providers, though its post-bubble acquisitions (Intermedia in 1997, WorldCom in 2000/2003, Verizon in 2006) integrated its tech into larger telecom infrastructures.[1][2][4]
Digex's legacy as an internet hosting pioneer endures in today's cloud giants, but as a defunct entity fully absorbed by Verizon (digex.net redirects there), its direct story closed over two decades ago.[1][4] No active operations remain, with influence evolving through alumni like early employee Doug Mohney and absorbed innovations shaping hosting standards.[2] Trends like AI-driven infrastructure may indirectly honor its basement-to-IPO path, reminding us how early risk-takers built the digital foundation—much like Digex did from a Maryland townhouse.
Key people at Digex.
