n8n is a workflow automation platform from Berlin that lets builders connect apps, APIs, and AI models into processes that run themselves. Founded in 2019 by Jan Oberhauser, it spent its early years as a scrappy open alternative to Zapier and emerged from the AI wave as one of Europe's most valuable infrastructure companies, priced at $5.2 billion after a strategic investment from SAP.
The platform's signature is flexibility. Workflows are assembled visually from nodes, but any node can drop down into real JavaScript or Python, which makes n8n the tool of choice for builders who outgrow pure no-code platforms without wanting to write everything from scratch.
The fair-code bet
Oberhauser released n8n under a fair-code license, a model he helped define. The source code is public and free to self-host, but commercial restrictions stop cloud giants from reselling the work. The approach looked contrarian in 2019 and became a moat: tens of thousands of teams run n8n on their own servers, something closed competitors cannot offer.
Self-hosting wins customers that SaaS-only tools struggle to reach: companies in regulated industries, teams with strict data-residency rules, and agencies that want fixed infrastructure costs instead of per-task fees that scale against them.
From side project to AI workflow engine
n8n started as Oberhauser's solo project and grew through its developer community after launching publicly in 2019, with early backing from Sequoia and Felicis. The AI boom transformed the product: native nodes for large language models, vector stores, and agent logic turned n8n into a place where builders compose AI agents, not just move data between apps. According to Tech Funding News, annual recurring revenue grew roughly fivefold in a year, with more than 230,000 active users and over 3,000 enterprise customers.
That same flexibility is why n8n anchors the toolkit in our playbook for starting an AI automation agency, where it appears alongside Make and Zapier as the orchestration layer that solo operators learn first.
Funding and the SAP moment
The capital followed the usage. Highland Europe led a roughly $60 million Series B in early 2025, and in October 2025 n8n closed a $180 million Series C at a $2.5 billion post-money valuation, led by Accel with Meritech and Deutsche Telekom's venture arm participating.
Months later, enterprise software giant SAP took a strategic stake that valued the company at $5.2 billion, a signal that workflow automation with AI has moved from startup tooling to enterprise infrastructure. Total disclosed funding now exceeds $250 million.
Why agencies build on n8n
For the growing wave of AI automation agencies, n8n's economics are the draw. An agency running client workflows on self-hosted n8n pays for a server, not for every task executed, so margins improve as automations scale. Client data can also stay inside the client's own infrastructure, which shortens security reviews.
The template library and community workflows give new operators a running start: lead intake, invoice processing, report generation, and support triage all exist as starting points that an agency can adapt per client rather than build from zero.
Frequently asked questions
What is n8n?
n8n is a workflow automation platform founded in Berlin in 2019. It combines a visual, node-based editor with the option to write real code, and it can be self-hosted for free under a fair-code license or used as a hosted cloud service.
Who founded n8n?
Jan Oberhauser founded n8n in 2019 as a solo project. He remains CEO, and the company is headquartered in Berlin, Germany.
How much is n8n worth?
n8n was valued at $2.5 billion in its October 2025 Series C and reached a $5.2 billion valuation in 2026 after a strategic investment from SAP.
How is n8n different from Zapier?
Zapier is a fully hosted no-code product priced per task. n8n can be self-hosted at a fixed cost, allows custom code inside workflows, and offers deeper control over data and infrastructure, which makes it popular with technical teams and automation agencies.
Is n8n open source?
n8n calls its model fair-code. The source code is public and free to self-host, but a license restricts reselling the software as a competing service. It is not open source under the strict OSI definition.