SwissIX was launched in 2001 – right after the burst of the Internet bubble – with a handful of ISPs and a simple mission: keep local traffic local. Twenty-five years later, the exchange carries more than a terabit per second of traffic, connects hundreds of networks, and has become a key part of Switzerland’s Internet infrastructure. This talk takes a look back at how we got here: from the spirit of the early days – when Nokia was not primarily known for its routers – to the evolution of today’s high-capacity peering fabric. Along the way, we will revisit some of the technical and operational milestones that shaped SwissIX and reflect on how we see the role of SwissIX in the years to come.