Zapier

Last updated
Zapier
Company type Private
Industry
Founded2011 (2011) (project) and 2012 (2012) (company launch)
FoundersWade Foster, Bryan Helmig, Mike Knoop
Number of locations
Distributed; fully remote company
Area served
Worldwide
Number of employees
700 (August 2022)
Website zapier.com

Zapier is an American software company that provides a platform for workflow automation, application integration, and artificial intelligence (AI) orchestration. Its product enables users to connect web-based applications, automate tasks, and incorporate AI into workflows. Founded in 2011 as a side project by three individuals from the US state of Missouri, Zapier was officially launched in 2012 as part of a Y Combinator start-up accelerator program. Zapier has been fully remotely since its inception, making it an early pioneer of remote work. As of 2025, the platform supports integrations with over 8,000 applications through its integration directory and has incorporated AI-powered workflows, chatbots, Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, and agentic AI into its product suite.

Contents

History

Zapier began as a side project in 2011 in Columbia, Missouri, United States, founded by Wade Foster, Bryan Helmig, and Mike Knoop, [1] all of whom are from the Mid-Missouri region and attended the University of Missouri. [2] Foster and Knoop were doing freelance work building small integrations for companies when they noticed they were frequently using the same connectors. [3] [4] The idea for Zapier first emerged on September 8, 2011, when Foster and Helmig discussed creating a tool to help users integrate multiple software applications, having identified a growing demand for application connectivity. [5] [6] Foster and Helmig, then colleagues at Veterans United Home Loans, began developing the project, with Knoop joining later that year. For several months, the team worked on the software while maintaining full-time jobs. [7] After presenting their product idea at a Startup Weekend in Columbia from September 30 to October 2, 2011, [6] the founders applied to Y Combinator, a Silicon Valley startup incubator, but were initially rejected. They reapplied the following year after building a prototype and gaining early users, and were accepted. [8] In November, entrepreneur Andrew Warner, host of the startup podcast Mixergy, became Zapier's first paying customer, contributing $100 for access to its beta integration product. [9]

In December 2011, Foster left his job to work on Zapier full-time. Helmig followed in April 2012, and Knoop joined full-time in May, the same month the company launched its public beta. [10] The founders relocated to Mountain View, California, to launch Zapier and formally join the Y Combinator program in June. [5] [10] Zapier is headquartered in San Francisco, California, but does not have work offices. [11] [12] The company has operated fully remotely since its founding and is considered a pioneer of remote work—an approach that was uncommon in the tech industry at the time. [13] [14] Zapier adopted a product-led growth (PLG) model, [15] a strategy in which the product itself drove customer acquisition and retention, primarily through a self-serve experience. [16] In August 2012, Zapier launched its Developer Platform, which allowed developers to create and add custom integrations not yet supported in Zapier's app directory. [17] [18] At the time, Zapier supported over 60 applications. According to Foster, the platform was designed to help developers save time when building integrations. The launch was done in collaboration with 12 technology partners. [19]

In October 2012, Zapier received a $1.2 million seed round led by Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP), Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), and several angel investors. [20] In the announcement, Zapier stated that the funds would be used to invest in its core and developer platforms. [13] [21] The founders noted that BVP stood out for its immediate interest in the product, while DFJ was recognized for its expertise in selling enterprise software. Alongside the funding, Zapier announced the hiring of its first non-founding employee and outlined plans to build a robust customer support operation. The team also indicated that, with upcoming product enhancements, hiring one or two additional developers was under consideration. [22] Unlike many early-stage software companies, Zapier prioritized building a relatively large customer support team for its size and revenue. [13] The company became profitable in 2014. [23]

In March 2017, Zapier introduced a $10,000 "de-location" package program to support tech workers who chose to move out of the San Francisco Bay Area. [24] [25] Foster stated the initiative was a response to the region's high cost of living and housing shortage, [26] aiming to ensure employees would not have to choose between career advancement in the Bay Area and personal goals such as starting a family elsewhere. [27] [28] The program was limited to individuals intending to move away from the Bay Area and required a commitment of at least one year of employment at the company. [29] Zapier received about 150 applicants over the weekend, including 50 who specifically cited the de-location package in their application. The initiative came amid growing frustration among Bay Area tech workers over housing shortages, rising costs of living, and broader concerns about displacement and gentrification linked to the tech industry's expansion. [30] In December 2018, Zapier reported that its annual recurring revenue (ARR) had surpassed US$50 million, reflecting nearly 50% growth since January, when ARR was US$35 million. The company also announced that it had reached its 200th employee. [31]

In early 2020, during the onset COVID-19 pandemic, Zapier set up a US$1 million small business assistance fund for struggling customers. In the summer of that year, the company surpassed $100 million in ARR. [13] In January 2021, investment firms Sequoia Capital and Steadfast Financial purchased shares from some of Zapier's early investors in a secondary market transaction. [32] [13] The terms of the deal, including the amount sold and the participating investors, were not publicly disclosed. The transaction valued the company at US$5 billion. Foster stated that the sale reduced pressure to pursue a liquidity event, such as an initial public offering (IPO) or acquisition. He also confirmed that none of the founders took part in the sale. Foster added that with the involvement of Sequoia and Steadfast, Zapier would leverage their networks and support to drive further revenue growth through connections with their portfolio companies. [13] As of August 2022, the company employed approximately 700 people in close to forty countries, all working remotely. [33] [34]

Acquisitions

In March 2021, Zapier acquired its first company, Makerpad, a no-code education service, for an undisclosed sum of money. [35] [36] Foster and Makerpad founder Ben Tossell stated that Makerpad would continue operating as a separate entity for a period of time. [37] The acquisition came about in an unorthodox way, beginning with a tweet from Tossell in September of the previous year, in which he mentioned that Zapier was his company's second most-used software tool, just behind Airtable. An investor retweeted the post, sparking a broader conversation that caught Foster's attention. Foster then reached out to Tossell, and their conversations eventually led to the acquisition. Foster confirmed that Zapier had been aware of Makerpad since 2019, when Tossell tweeted about his experience building with no-code tools, including Zapier, at Makerpad. [38] In an interview, Foster did not confirm or rule out the possibility of additional acquisitions but ruled out going public through a special-purpose acquisition company. [37]

In March 2024, Zapier acquired Vowel, an AI-powered video conferencing tool, as part of its efforts to expand its AI capabilities. Vowel's founder, Andrew Berman, joined Zapier following the acquisition. [39] In July 2024, Zapier acquired NoCodeOps, an Atlanta-based community platform and no-code software company. [40] [41] The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. [42] NoCodeOps co-founders Philip Lakin and Brent Summers stated that they would join Zapier along with several of their employees, and that Zapier would take over management of the NoCodeOps community. NoCodeOps’ flagship product, Operator (formerly known as Switchboard), was discontinued, though its insights would be used to expand Zapier's product offerings. [43] [44] Zapier's relationship with NoCodeOps began in 2021, when it participated in a $4.5 million seed funding round alongside other investors. [42] [45]

Products and services

Zapier is a low-code/no-code software platform that enables users to integrate web applications, automate tasks, and transfer data across services. [46] [47] It is classified as an integration platform as a service (iPaaS) and AI orchestration platform. [48] [49] Its automation system is built around workflows called "Zaps," [50] which consist of a "trigger", an event in one application, and one or more "actions" carried out in other connected apps in response. [31] [51] Users can create workflows using a library of templates or build custom ones. [51] [52] These workflows can include multiple steps, perform several actions across various applications, and support a range of automations and data transfers. Workflows can be configured and edited both before and after activation, and conditions can be set to control execution. [51] Workflows can also be created using Zapier Copilot, a tool that leverages large language models (LLMs) to help users build and troubleshoot workflows through natural language prompts. [53] [54]

The platform connects to approximately 8,000 applications through its app directory, enabling data exchange via APIs. [49] [55] Users who need custom integrations not available in the directory can create them using the Zapier Developer Platform. [56] [57] Zapier also offers a no-code database called Zapier Tables, which allows users to store, edit, upload, and share data before integrating it across applications. Another product, Zapier Interfaces, enables users to create custom web interfaces, forms, and applications that can connect to and trigger automated workflows. [58] Zapier Canvas, launched in 2023, is a diagramming and visualization tool that allows users to plan and document workflows, with integration into Zapier's automation platform. [59] [60] Zapier offers multiple product plans with varying levels of functionality. [61] The Free plan supports two-step workflows and a limited number of tasks. The Professional and Team plans are designed for individual users and small teams, respectively. The Enterprise plan is aimed at organizations and includes features such as unlimited users, advanced security and governance controls, enhanced observability, annual task allocation, and access to a technical account management team. [61] [62]

In 2023, Zapier announced that they were introducing AI offerings. [61] [63] As of 2025, they include AI-powered workflows, chatbots, Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, and agentic AI. These tools support orchestration and decision-making across integrated systems. [64] [65] In April 2025, Zapier published a playbook for companies evaluating how to do an internal AI rollout, as Zapier has rolled out one internally and reported that 89 percent of its employees had adopted AI tools in their day-to-day work. The phased initiative began with early experimentation using LLMs and escalated following the release of OpenAI's GPT‑4 in March 2023. [a] It included company-wide hackathons, training programs, and data governance policies. AI tools were gradually adopted across Zapier, with the rollout framed as a way to enhance, rather than replace, existing workflows. [67]

Notes

  1. ↑ Zapier, along with Block, Canva, The Carlyle Group, The Estée Lauder Companies, and PwC, were early adopters of ChatGPT Enterprise GPT-4. [66]

References

  1. ↑ Kumparak, Greg (9 March 2020). "Zapier CEO Wade Foster on scaling a remote team up to 300 employees". TechCrunch . Archived from the original on 8 March 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Young CEO offers thoughts on Missouri startups" . News Tribune . October 2, 2017. Archived from the original on March 1, 2022.
  3. ↑ Mitroff, Sarah (October 31, 2012). "Make Your Job Less Boring by Getting Your Apps to Connect". Wired . Archived from the original on 24 July 2014.
  4. ↑ "With $1.2M in Seed funding in the bank, Zapier automates API connections for SMBs". StartUp Beat. November 23, 2012. Archived from the original on June 8, 2025. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
  5. 1 2 "Zapier: The easiest way to automate your work". Y Combinator . Archived from the original on 7 March 2025. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  6. 1 2 Foster, Wade (October 31, 2012). "Zapier, 100+ Connected Services, a Year in Review". Zapier. Archived from the original on November 25, 2024. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  7. ↑ Feeler, Heather (27 August 2020). "Wade Foster, Co-founder & CEO at Zapier". Jefferson City Magazine. Archived from the original on July 1, 2025.
  8. ↑ Turnbull, Alex. "How Zapier Went From Zero to 600,000+ Users in Just Three Years". Groove. Archived from the original on April 29, 2025.
  9. ↑ Foster, Wade (June 25, 2012). "The Anatomy of Sales at a Startup or How Andrew Warner Became Our First Paying Customer". Zapier. Archived from the original on April 19, 2025. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  10. 1 2 "Columbia, Mo.-born Zapier launches from its new home at Y Combinator". Silicon Prairie News. June 20, 2012. Archived from the original on June 27, 2025.
  11. ↑ "Zapier's vendor information". Zapier. Archived from the original on March 20, 2025. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
  12. ↑ Foster, Wade (March 27, 2020). "Why Zapier has always been 100% remote". Zapier. Archived from the original on April 16, 2025.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Konrad, Alex (8 March 2021). "Zapier's CEO Reveals How His Automation Startup Reached A $5 Billion Valuation Without Jumping On The VC 'Hamster Wheel'" . Forbes . Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  14. ↑ Mollman, Steve (August 11, 2023). "Zapier CEO rides remote work to a $5B valuation but swears by off-site gatherings: 'Getting people together goes such a long way'". Fortune . Archived from the original on November 20, 2024. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
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  20. ↑ "Zapier Gets $1.2M Happier". PitchBook. November 1, 2012. Archived from the original on July 1, 2025.
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  23. ↑ "From JC to Silicon Valley: Native son Wade Foster hones an entrepreneurial spirit" . News Tribune . October 2, 2017. Archived from the original on March 1, 2022.
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  31. 1 2 Newman, Jared (2018-06-12). "Business-app automation kingpin Zapier has its eye on consumers". Fast Company . Archived from the original on 2022-05-20. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
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  40. ↑ Lankin, Phil; Summers, Brent (2024). "NoCodeOps joins Zapier!". NoCodeOps. Archived from the original on 2024-11-01. Retrieved 2025-06-29.
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  61. 1 2 3 Rowlands, Chris (March 21, 2025). "What is Zapier AI: everything you need to know about the AI automation tool". TechRadar . Archived from the original on April 24, 2025. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
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  66. ↑ "Introducing ChatGPT Enterprise". OpenAI . August 28, 2023. Archived from the original on May 16, 2025. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
  67. ↑ Foster, Wade (April 29, 2025). "How Zapier rolled out AI org-wide: Our playbook to driving 89% adoption". Zapier. Archived from the original on July 1, 2025.
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