Megan McCarty Carino

They owned the virtual roads of the information highway.

And those roads didn't connect in very many places.

You had to pay tolls to jump from one network to another.

The innovation at PAX was to just plug a bunch of networks together in a neutral location, almost like a roundabout.

That created the system that helped make the cloud possible.

This is the home of the virtual world.

From telephone switchboards to early search engines to today's data-hungry AI companies, we humans have needed places like this to connect.

I'm Megan McCarty Carino for Marketplace.

The other night, I'm sort of half watching a spy thriller on Hulu and shopping on my phone for a hair care product.

The other night, I'm sort of half watching a spy thriller on Hulu and shopping on my phone for a hair care product.

If you must know, it was the curl moisturizing mousse from the Italian luxury brand Davines.

If you must know, it was the curl moisturizing mousse from the Italian luxury brand Davines.

Being the savvy consumer I am, I know you can sometimes end up with counterfeit beauty products, so I head over to Google to find something trustworthy.

Being the savvy consumer I am, I know you can sometimes end up with counterfeit beauty products, so I head over to Google to find something trustworthy.

First sponsored result?

First sponsored result?

The Davines North America official online shop.

The Davines North America official online shop.

Spoiler, it was not.

Spoiler, it was not.