The company Cloudflare, Inc. (NASDAQ: NET) is publicly traded, but the question of who owns Cloudflare involves multiple layers: the founding team, major shareholders, and institutional investors. As of today, all of these factors play into ownership and control.
Table of Contents
Founders and Leadership
Cloudflare was co-founded in 2009 by Matthew Prince, Lee Holloway and Michelle Zatlyn.
- Matthew Prince serves as co-chair and Chief Executive Officer of Cloudflare.
- Michelle Zatlyn is co-founder, President and Chief Operating Officer.
- Lee Holloway is the third co-founder; though less publicly visible, his contributions remain part of the company’s foundation.
These founders retain meaningful stakes (especially insiders like Prince) but they do not individually “own” the company outright given its public status.
Public Company Structure
Cloudflare is a public company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “NET.” Because it is publicly traded, ownership is distributed among many shareholders: institutional investors, insiders, and retail/public stockholders.
Here are key ownership metrics:
- Institutional investors hold a significant majority of shares. According to recent data, about 60-80 % of outstanding shares are owned by institutional investors.
- Insider ownership (executives, board members) is relatively small, in some datasets below 1-2 % by economic shares.
- Retail investors (public individuals) and other public companies own the remainder.
- Among top institutional shareholders:
- Capital Research & Management Company holds approximately 11.7 % of the company.
- The Vanguard Group, Inc. holds around 9.2 % of outstanding shares.
- BlackRock, Inc. owns about 6.4 %.
Thus, while the founders and management maintain leadership and some share ownership, control is broadly diffused among large institutional investors and many public shareholders.
Why This Matters for “Who Owns Cloudflare”
When someone asks “who owns Cloudflare,” they may mean:
- Which individual or group controls the company?
- Who holds the largest stake?
- Who makes decisions?
In this case:
- Decision-making is led by the executive team (Prince, Zatlyn) and the Board of Directors, under the public-company governance model.
- Major ownership lies with institutional investors—who may influence governance via voting rights, but do not individually manage daily operations.
- No one individual currently owns a controlling majority; there is no single owner who holds 50 %+ of shares publicly disclosed.
Recent Ownership & Governance Highlights
- Cloudflare’s most recent institutional ownership breakdown affirms that top 25 shareholders collectively hold about 68 % of all shares.
- The founder Matthew Prince personally holds a sizeable stake (for an insider) — 27,104,635 shares in one reported figure.
- Because Cloudflare uses a dual-class or similar structure (common in tech firms) the founders may have a higher proportion of voting control relative to their economic ownership.
Quick Ownership Snapshot
| Category | Approximate Ownership %* |
|---|---|
| Institutional investors | ~60-65% |
| Insiders (executive/board) | <1% (economic shares) |
| Founders | Included in insiders, but economic stake significant |
| Retail/Public shares | ~35-40% |
* Figures are approximate based on the latest available public data.
Bottom Line
So, who owns Cloudflare? In short: no single person owns it outright. Instead it is owned collectively by institutional investors, retail shareholders and its founders/executives. The company is run by its co-founders (Matthew Prince and Michelle Zatlyn) and overseen by its board and major shareholders, fitting the model of a publicly traded tech firm.
If you’d like a deeper dive into founder voting control, board composition or recent changes in major shareholders, I can pull those details too—just let me know.