# SoftLayer

> Dallas-born IaaS / cloud infrastructure provider — acquired by IBM in 2013.

## Why it is interesting

DFW cloud history: SoftLayer was the largest privately held IaaS provider when IBM acquired it (announced Jun 2013, closed Jul 2013), seeding IBM’s modern public-cloud footprint from a Dallas HQ.

## Profile

- **Stage:** acquired
- **Status:** acquired
- **Industries:** infra-cloud, enterprise-saas
- **Coverage:** full
- **Last updated:** 2026-07-26

## Key facts

- Acquired by IBM — announced Jun 4, 2013; closed Jul 8, 2013 (IBM PR)
- HQ was Dallas, Texas at acquisition
- Positioned as largest privately held IaaS provider (~21K customers, 13 data centers cited in IBM PR)
- Brand later absorbed into IBM Cloud

## Related articles

- https://venturecapitaltracker.com/dallas-fort-worth-startups-and-vc-firms-2026

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Source: https://venturecapitaltracker.com/startup/softlayer