Company Announcements

Analysis identifies AI-native network patterns and a surge in high-performance connectivity to neoclouds

SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 29, 2026-- Backblaze, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLZE), the high-performance cloud storage platform for the AI era, today released its Q4 2025 Network Stats report, identifying a sharp rise in AI-driven data traffic to neoclouds and signaling a shift toward AI-native network behavior optimized for large-scale model training and inference.

The report, which follows Backblaze’s Q3 Network Stats analysis, isolates how artificial intelligence is reshaping global network infrastructure. Q4 data shows massive datasets increasingly moving in short, sustained bursts and concentrating strongly in the US-East region—a departure from diffuse internet traffic patterns as data gravity is now pulling storage, compute, and network design into tighter alignment.

Backblaze observed neocloud traffic increasing from July through November, peaking in October. Together, these patterns suggest AI data movement is concentrated and sustained. This reflects tighter alignment between storage, compute, and network design.

Key findings from the Q4 2025 Network Stats Report include:

• AI traffic concentrates in US-East region: Q4 data shows AI-driven transfers clustering near neocloud compute hubs in Northern Virginia, New York, and Atlanta, underscoring the importance of low-latency connectivity for model training workloads.
• High-magnitude AI flows become the norm: Using its “magnitude” metric—bits transferred per unique IP address—Backblaze validated a shift away from many-to-many internet traffic toward sustained, high-throughput connections between specialized storage and compute systems.
• Large-scale data migrations accelerate: Migration traffic spiked from August through October, driven by private fiber onboarding of large datasets.
• US-West still crucial for consumer traffic: Our US-West to ISP-regional traffic still led in total traffic volume as exchanges bring Backblaze closer to consumer networks, where it can deliver traffic with lower latency.

“Few forces are reshaping network behavior faster than AI,” said Brent Nowak, Technical Lead Network Engineer at Backblaze. “With B2 Overdrive, we created a direct, high-performance path between storage and the neoclouds where modeling takes place. This report gives the industry a clear view into how AI is driving the shift from internet-style traffic to the sustained, high-bandwidth flows required by AI-native infrastructure.”

Availability

The full report, including detailed heatmaps and analysis, is available on the Backblaze blog: Q4 2025 Network Stats. Backblaze will also host a live webinar on Wednesday, Feb. 4 to walk through the findings and discuss what they signal for AI infrastructure design in 2026. The full Network Stats series can be found at: https://www.backblaze.com/blog/tag/networkstats/.

About Backblaze

Backblaze (NASDAQ: BLZE) gives businesses the freedom to innovate without limits by removing the barriers of lock-in, complexity, and cost. Our high-performance cloud object storage accelerates AI workflows, powers data-heavy applications, streamlines media management, and protects critical data. As an award-winning independent cloud, we provide unparalleled levels of interoperability that enable over 500,000 of our customers to reach and serve hundreds of millions of end users in 175 countries around the world. For more information, please go to www.backblaze.com.

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Press Contact:
Yev Pusin
Head of Communications
press@backblaze.com

Source: Backblaze, Inc.