Behind the Site

Zapier

zapier.com

Remote-first automation platform letting businesses connect 9,000+ apps and build AI workflows without code.

  • Business process automation / iPaaS
  • active
  • Founded 2011
  • Researched Sep 2026
Confirmed
Age15 yearsDomain registered 2011
Confirmed
Based inSan Francisco, USAlso Distributed / fully remote
Likely
Employees501-1000Wikipedia cites ~730 employees (2025) and Indeed lists a 501-1000 employee band
Confirmed
Funding$1.2M raisedSeed $1.2M · Secondary share purchase (no new capital raised by company)
Likely
PlatformsWeb, API
Confirmed
Founders3 foundersWade Foster, Bryan Helmig, Mike Knoop

The story

Zapier was started in Columbia, Missouri by three friends who turned a freelance side project into a Y Combinator company. It grew almost entirely without outside capital, reaching a $5 billion valuation via a 2021 secondary share sale rather than a funding round, and has since expanded from simple app-to-app integrations into an AI workflow and agent orchestration platform. It remains an independent, fully remote private company headquartered in San Francisco.

Timeline

  1. FoundedSep 2011

    Started as side project

    Foster and Helmig began building it in Columbia, Missouri

  2. LaunchMay 2012

    Public beta and Y Combinator

    Company launched publicly and joined Y Combinator

  3. FundingOct 2012

    $1.2M seed round

    Led by Bessemer Venture Partners and DFJ

  4. Milestone2014

    Became profitable

    Reached profitability without further fundraising

  5. MilestoneDec 2018

    200th employee

    Company announced its 200th hire

  6. FundingJan 2021

    $5B secondary valuation

    Sequoia and Steadfast bought shares from early investors

  7. AcquiredMar 2021

    Acquired Makerpad

    First acquisition; a no-code education service

  8. AcquiredMar 2024

    Acquired Vowel

    AI video conferencing tool acquired

  9. AcquiredOct 2025

    Acquired Utopian Labs

    AI sales-email chatbot maker, later shut down

Founders

  • Wade Foster

    Co-founder and CEO

    University of Missouri grad; worked as a PM and email marketing manager before Zapier

    wadefoster.net

  • Bryan Helmig

    Co-founder and CTO

    Former colleague of Foster at Veterans United; has led Zapier's technical direction since 2011

    zapier.com

  • Mike Knoop

    Co-founder; Head of Zapier AI

    Joined the founding team in 2011; now also runs the ARC Prize AGI benchmark competition

    cxotalk.com

8 sourcesEvery fact above links back to these.
  1. Zapier homepage (JSON-LD organization data)zapier.com
  2. Zapier - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
  3. Zapier's CEO Reveals How His Automation Startup Reached A $5 Billion Valuation - Forbesforbes.com
  4. Zapier's Wade Foster reflects on artificial intelligence - Missouri Business Alertmissouribusinessalert.com
  5. Mike Knoop, Co-founder, Zapier - CXOTalkcxotalk.com
  6. Who is the CTO of Zapier - Bryan Helmig's Bio - Clayclay.com
  7. Zapier Careers and Employment - Indeed.comindeed.com
  8. Zapier revenue, valuation & funding - Sacrasacra.com
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