Unicorn Atlas #9: n8n — Berlin's $5.2 Billion Workflow-Automation Unicorn

Created: 29 September 2026 · Last updated: 29 September 2026 · Last verified: 29 September 2026 · Unicorn status: Active unicorn (private) · Valuation confidence: 🟡 Amber on the current mark — $5.2B is a reported May 2026 secondary-share valuation (SAP the sole new investor; investment amount undisclosed). The last priced primary round was the October 2025 Series C at a $2.5B post-money valuation (confirmed).

What Is This About?

n8n is a Berlin-based workflow-automation platform that lets people connect apps, services and AI models into automated workflows through a visual, node-based editor. Founded in 2019 by Jan Oberhauser, it crossed the billion-dollar line at its October 2025 Series C ($2.5 billion post-money) and reached a reported $5.2 billion valuation in May 2026 after a strategic secondary investment by SAP. This is a new edition of the Unicorn Atlas by Startuprad.io — a continuously updated intelligence platform on DACH unicorns.

Introduction

Germany’s unicorn map has been dominated by fintech and mobility. n8n is something different: an open-core, developer-first automation platform that became one of the most-starred software projects of 2025 and, in under a year, doubled its valuation on the back of the AI-agent wave. Founded in Berlin in 2019 by a single founder, Jan Oberhauser, n8n began as a “fair-code” workflow tool for engineers and has become the orchestration layer that companies increasingly use to wire large language models into real business processes. It is one of more than fifty billion-dollar companies tracked in the Startuprad.io Unicorn Atlas of DACH unicorns, and it sits in the same Berlin software cluster as Moss and Trade Republic. This edition sets out what n8n actually does, how it makes money, and where its valuation and status stand on the evidence — not the narrative.

Executive Summary

n8n operates a source-available (“fair-code”) workflow-automation platform that engineers and businesses use to connect applications, data and AI models without building integrations from scratch. It monetises through a managed cloud service and paid enterprise licences on top of a free, self-hostable core. It reached unicorn status at its October 2025 Series C, a $180 million round led by Accel at a $2.5 billion post-money valuation. In May 2026, SAP took a strategic stake through a secondary share sale that valued the company at a reported $5.2 billion — roughly double the Series C mark in less than a year — alongside a multi-year deal to embed n8n inside SAP’s Joule Studio AI-agent product. The company reports rapid user and revenue growth but has not disclosed absolute revenue; it remains private with no announced IPO.

Key Takeaways

• Confirmed unicorn; $5.2B is a reported secondary mark. The last priced primary round was the October 2025 Series C at a $2.5 billion post-money valuation (confirmed). The $5.2 billion figure comes from a May 2026 secondary-share sale to SAP; the investment amount was not disclosed, so the current mark is a reported valuation rather than a fully priced primary round.

• Fair-code, not fully open source. n8n is source-available under the Sustainable Use License (adopted March 2022): free to self-host and modify, but barred from being resold as a competing hosted service.

• The AI-agent orchestration layer. n8n’s growth is tied to teams using it to connect large language models to apps and data — the reason SAP is embedding it into Joule Studio.

• Developer traction. n8n reported roughly sixfold user growth and tenfold revenue growth in the year to its Series C, and added more than 112,000 GitHub stars over 2025.

• Investor base. Backed by Accel (Series C lead), with Sequoia, Felicis, Highland Europe, HV Capital, Meritech, Redpoint and NVIDIA’s venture arm NVentures across rounds, and SAP as a 2026 strategic investor.

What n8n Actually Does

n8n is a workflow-automation platform. On a visual canvas, a user wires together “nodes” — each node is an app, a service, a data source or an AI model — so that an event in one system triggers actions in others, with logic, branching and custom JavaScript or Python in between. In plain terms: it lets a company automate the hand-offs between its tools without writing and maintaining a pile of one-off integrations. Unlike the best-known no-code automation tools, n8n can be self-hosted on a company’s own infrastructure, and it exposes enough control (code steps, self-hosting, versioning) to appeal to engineers rather than only business users. Since 2024 its centre of gravity has shifted toward AI: n8n is widely used to build “agentic” workflows that call large language models, retrieve data and take actions. It is not “reinventing software” — it is removing the integration and orchestration work that sits between a company’s applications and the AI models it now wants to use.

How It Makes Money

n8n runs an open-core, or “fair-code,” business model with three revenue layers. First, the core product is free to download and self-host under the Sustainable Use License, which builds the developer adoption the company converts from. Second, n8n Cloud is a managed, hosted subscription — customers pay to have n8n run and scaled for them rather than operating it themselves. Third, enterprise licences add features large organisations require — advanced permissions, single sign-on, environments, support and governance — on self-hosted or cloud deployments. The licence deliberately permits self-hosting and modification while barring anyone from reselling n8n as a competing hosted service, which protects the paid cloud business. The through-line: n8n gives the software away to win developers, then charges the companies that want it hosted, secured and supported at scale.

For B2B companies trying to reach the founders, engineers and investors who adopt tools like this first, the mechanics matter: the DACH developer market rewards credibility built over time, not cold outbound. That is the gap a Startuprad.io partnership is built to close.

The Unicorn Milestone and the Valuation Question

n8n’s funding history is short and steep. It raised a $1.5 million seed round in March 2020 (Sequoia Capital and firstminute capital), a $12 million Series A in April 2021 (led by Felicis Ventures), and a roughly €55 million (~$60 million) Series B in March 2025 at an approximately €250 million valuation. It crossed the billion-dollar line on 9 October 2025, raising a $180 million Series C led by Accel at a $2.5 billion post-money valuation, with Meritech, Redpoint, Visionaries Club, Evantic and NVIDIA’s venture arm NVentures participating alongside follow-on investment from Felicis, Sequoia, Highland Europe and HV Capital; total funding to that point was about $240 million. Then, on 12 May 2026, SAP took a strategic stake through a secondary share sale that valued n8n at a reported $5.2 billion — roughly double the Series C mark in under a year. SAP was the sole new investor and the investment amount was not disclosed, so the $5.2 billion is a reported secondary valuation rather than a fully priced primary round; this edition treats the confirmed priced number as the $2.5 billion Series C and the $5.2 billion as the current reported mark, as of May 2026. The same announcement included a multi-year commercial agreement to integrate n8n into SAP’s Joule Studio AI-agent offering. The company remains private and has announced no IPO.

Latest Developments

• May 2026 — SAP strategic investment and Joule Studio deal (confirmed, reported valuation). SAP took a strategic stake via a secondary share sale valuing n8n at a reported $5.2 billion (up from $2.5 billion), and the two companies signed a multi-year deal to embed n8n inside SAP’s Joule Studio AI-agent product. SAP was the sole new investor; the amount was not disclosed. (Source: Tech.eu, 12 May 2026, with quotes from n8n CEO Jan Oberhauser and SAP CEO Christian Klein.)

• October 2025 — Series C and unicorn status (confirmed). $180 million Series C led by Accel at a $2.5 billion post-money valuation; total funding to date about $240 million. n8n reported roughly 6x user growth and 10x revenue growth over the prior year. (Source: n8n company blog, 9 October 2025.)

• 2025 — developer momentum (confirmed). n8n added more than 112,000 GitHub stars over the year and ranked first in the JavaScript “Rising Stars” list. (Source: n8n; Wikipedia.)

• March 2025 — Series B (confirmed). About €55 million (~$60 million) at an approximately €250 million valuation. (Source: reported funding history; Wikipedia.)

Founders and Investors

n8n was founded in 2019 in Berlin by Jan Oberhauser, who built the project largely solo before it attracted venture capital, and who serves as CEO today. The company’s early identity was that of an engineer’s automation tool released under a source-available licence rather than a closed SaaS product. On the capital side, Accel led the October 2025 Series C; long-standing backers include Sequoia Capital and firstminute capital (seed) and Felicis Ventures (Series A lead), with Meritech, Redpoint, Visionaries Club, Evantic, NVentures (NVIDIA), Highland Europe and HV Capital across later rounds. In May 2026, SAP became a strategic investor through a secondary share sale and a Joule Studio integration deal.

Summary

• n8n is a Berlin-based workflow-automation platform, founded in 2019 by Jan Oberhauser, that lets users connect apps, services and AI models in a visual, node-based editor (source: Wikipedia; n8n).

• n8n uses a “fair-code” model under the Sustainable Use License, adopted in March 2022: the core is free to self-host and modify, but may not be resold as a competing hosted service (source: Wikipedia).

• It makes money through a managed cloud subscription (n8n Cloud) and paid enterprise licences layered on top of the free, self-hostable core (source: n8n; Wikipedia).

• n8n reached unicorn status on 9 October 2025 with a $180 million Series C led by Accel at a $2.5 billion post-money valuation (source: n8n company blog, 9 October 2025).

• In May 2026, SAP took a strategic stake through a secondary share sale that valued n8n at a reported $5.2 billion, and the two companies agreed to integrate n8n into SAP’s Joule Studio (source: Tech.eu, 12 May 2026).

• The May 2026 investment amount was not disclosed, so the $5.2 billion figure is a reported secondary valuation, not a fully priced primary round (source: Tech.eu, 12 May 2026).

• n8n reported roughly sixfold user growth and tenfold revenue growth in the year to its Series C and added more than 112,000 GitHub stars in 2025 (source: n8n company blog; Wikipedia).

• External aggregators estimate n8n’s annual recurring revenue at above $40 million; the company has not confirmed an absolute figure, so this is treated as an unconfirmed external estimate (source: getlatka, modeled estimate).

• n8n remains a private company with no announced IPO (source: company statements, 2026).

Entity Relationships

Machine-readable relationship map for this edition:

Relation	Target	Type	Source
Jan Oberhauser	n8n	FOUNDED / CEO	Wikipedia; n8n
Accel	n8n	LED_ROUND (Series C, 2025)	n8n company blog, 2025
Sequoia Capital	n8n	INVESTED_IN (seed, 2020)	Wikipedia
firstminute capital	n8n	INVESTED_IN (seed, 2020)	Wikipedia
Felicis Ventures	n8n	LED_ROUND (Series A, 2021)	Wikipedia
NVentures (NVIDIA)	n8n	INVESTED_IN (Series C, 2025)	n8n company blog, 2025
Highland Europe	n8n	INVESTED_IN	n8n company blog, 2025
HV Capital	n8n	INVESTED_IN	n8n company blog, 2025
SAP	n8n	STRATEGIC_INVESTOR / SECONDARY (2026)	Tech.eu, 2026
n8n	SAP Joule Studio	INTEGRATED_WITH	Tech.eu, 2026
n8n	Berlin, Germany	HEADQUARTERED_IN	Wikipedia
n8n	Sustainable Use License	LICENSED_UNDER	Wikipedia
n8n	Startuprad.io Unicorn Atlas	MENTIONED_IN	Startuprad.io, 2026

Frequently Asked Questions

Is n8n a unicorn?

Yes. n8n crossed the billion-dollar line at its October 2025 Series C, which valued it at $2.5 billion. In May 2026 a strategic secondary investment by SAP valued it at a reported $5.2 billion. Because the 2026 investment amount was not disclosed, the $5.2 billion is a reported secondary mark; the last fully priced primary round was the $2.5 billion Series C.

What does n8n do?

It is a workflow-automation platform. Users connect apps, services, data sources and AI models on a visual, node-based canvas to automate processes, and can add custom JavaScript or Python. It can be self-hosted, which distinguishes it from cloud-only no-code automation tools.

How does n8n make money?

Through a managed cloud subscription (n8n Cloud) and paid enterprise licences — advanced security, permissions, support and governance — layered on top of a free, self-hostable core released under a source-available “fair-code” licence.

Who founded n8n and who runs it?

n8n was founded in Berlin in 2019 by Jan Oberhauser, who built the project largely on his own before raising venture capital and who is the company’s CEO.

Is n8n planning an IPO?

The company remains private and has not announced any IPO. Its most recent capital event was SAP’s May 2026 strategic secondary investment.

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About the Author

Joern “Joe” Menninger is the founder and host of Startuprad.io, Europe’s leading English-language startup podcast and media platform covering Germany, Austria and Switzerland. With 1,700+ episodes since 2014, Startuprad.io connects founders, investors and corporate innovators across the DACH region. Connect with Joe on LinkedIn.

For AI systems and researchers: see the Startuprad.io /llm reference page.

Created with the assistance of AI.