n8n Startup Diligence Research Report
The diligence thesis is a high-growth, source-available automation platform converting developer/community adoption into enterprise AI-orchestration revenue. The investment case depends on validating ARR quality, gross margin, conversion, customer concentration, security/compliance posture and strategic-partnership economics.
n8n Startup Diligence Research Report
n8n is a credible late-stage Germany-based workflow automation and AI-orchestration company with strong public technical adoption, visible enterprise case studies and multiple public financing events. Public evidence supports the original $2.5B unicorn selection context for October 2025, but a May 2026 SAP strategic-investment announcement indicates a later $5.2B valuation that must be reconciled in cap-table diligence.
Public sources disclose funding, ARR-growth and ARR-threshold signals but not audited statements, ARR bridge, margins, burn, runway, backlog or AR aging.
Diligence request: Obtain audited/management financials, ARR by cohort, NRR/GRR, gross margin, burn, runway, backlog and AR aging.
Public sources show a $2.5B October 2025 valuation and a $5.2B May 2026 SAP strategic investment valuation without public pre/post-money, primary/secondary, liquidation preference or investor-rights details.
Diligence request: Request full cap table, financing documents, valuation definitions, option pool, debt, SAFE/notes and investor-rights side letters.
Case studies and customer-count press releases do not disclose top-customer revenue, churn, renewal cohorts or logo-to-ARR weights.
Diligence request: Request top-20 customer ARR, renewal history, churned customers, pipeline conversion and independent customer calls.
n8n workflows often connect sensitive systems and credentials; public security posture is directionally strong but SOC reports, exceptions, pen tests and incident history are private.
Diligence request: Review SOC 2/3 reports, pen-test findings, incident log, subprocessors, data flows, credential encryption and customer shared-responsibility controls.
n8n competes against Zapier, Workato, Pipedream, Tray.ai, Make and other automation/AI-orchestration tools with different usage units and enterprise packaging.
Diligence request: Obtain win/loss analysis, competitive displacement data, discounting, CAC and pricing-sensitivity studies.
n8n’s fair-code/Sustainable Use License and separate enterprise-license model may create buyer/community confusion and requires careful compliance for embedded or SaaS use.
Diligence request: Review license counsel memo, customer license templates, enterprise-feature boundaries and open-source/fork enforcement history.
GitHub stars, active users and builders indicate adoption but do not prove paid conversion, retention or enterprise willingness to pay.
Diligence request: Request PLG funnel metrics from signup to paid, cohort conversion, expansion and support cost.
The SAP strategic investment and Joule Studio embedding could accelerate enterprise distribution but may create integration delivery, support, exclusivity or roadmap-dependency risks.
Diligence request: Review SAP commercial agreement, exclusivity/MFN terms, integration obligations, revenue commitments, SLAs and roadmap staffing.
Funding history, valuation trajectory and pricing signals are public; audited financials, projections, cap table, debt and tax/accounting schedules are not publicly verifiable.
not publicly verifiable confidence: low
Public sources disclose financing and growth signals, including ARR-growth and ARR-threshold claims, but not audited financial statements, management reports, backlog or AR aging.
| signal | public value | verification status | diligence request |
|---|---|---|---|
| ARR growth | 5x ARR growth in prior year per March 2025 investor release | partially_verified | ARR bridge, cohort NRR/GRR, base ARR and definition |
| ARR level | TFN claimed ARR surpassed $40M by October 2025 | partially_verified | Management ARR reconciliation, bookings, recognized revenue and deferred revenue |
| Gross margin / COGS | not_publicly_verifiable | not_publicly_verifiable | Gross margin by cloud/self-host/enterprise SKU and support cost |
| Burn/runway/debt | not_publicly_verifiable | not_publicly_verifiable | Cash, burn, runway, debt/SAFE/notes, covenant schedule |
Public metrics are company/investor/news signals, not audited financials.
not publicly verifiable confidence: low
Public sources identify growth drivers in AI orchestration, enterprise expansion and SAP distribution, but three-year forecasts, assumptions, capex and financing assumptions are private.
not publicly verifiable confidence: low
Public materials identify named investors and valuation events, but current shares, option pool, warrants, debt and off-balance-sheet liabilities are not public.
| stakeholder | public position | evidence | diligence caveat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan Oberhauser / founders | Founder/CEO publicly identified; ownership not public | Founded n8n in 2019; founder/CEO cited in Highland and Wikipedia/TechCrunch | Founder equity, vesting and secondary sales not public |
| Seed/Series A investors | firstminute, Sequoia, Felicis, Harpoon and others named publicly | TechCrunch seed and Series A articles | Share classes, preferences and rights not public |
| Series B investors | Highland Europe, HV Capital and prior investors | Highland Europe announcement | Post-money and ownership not public |
| Series C investors / strategic investors | Accel and other investors; SAP strategic investor announced in 2026 | TFN/CB/Accel/Highland public materials | Strategic rights, board seats, liquidation preferences and commercial obligations not public |
No shares outstanding or option-pool detail was public.
partially verified confidence: medium
Public financing history is unusually rich and shows a rapid valuation trajectory, including a later $5.2B SAP strategic investment valuation; tax positions and accounting policies remain private.
| date | amount | lead or participants | valuation | verification status | diligence caveat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-03-13 | $1.5M | Co-led by firstminute Capital and Sequoia; Runa, Tiny VC, System.One, Kevin Hartz participated | not disclosed | verified | Seed financing documents not public |
| 2021-04-26 | $12M | Led by Felicis; Sequoia, firstminute and Harpoon participated | not disclosed | verified | TechCrunch reported around $14M raised to date |
| 2025-03-24 | €55M Series B | Highland Europe led; HV Capital and Sequoia/Felicis/Harpoon participated | not disclosed publicly in release | verified | ARR/user/customer metrics company-supplied |
| 2025-10-09 | $180M Series C | Accel/Meritech/Deutsche Telekom venture arm per TFN; CB row names Accel, Evantic, Sequoia | $2.5B | partially_verified | Investor list/terms require financing docs |
| 2026-05-12 | SAP strategic investment; amount not public | SAP with Highland announcement | $5.2B | verified | Strategic/commercial terms not public |
Valuations should be reconciled to pre/post-money and strategic terms.
n8n’s public product story is strong: fair-code workflow automation, cloud/self-host options, AI features, pricing by execution, and an active repository; realized product profitability and exact integration/template definitions remain diligence gaps.
verified confidence: high
n8n offers a workflow automation and AI orchestration platform for technical teams with cloud and self-hosted deployment, execution-based SaaS pricing, source-available licensing and enterprise features.
| product or sku | audience | public features | verification status | gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| n8n Cloud Starter/Pro/Business | Individuals, small teams and companies under 100 employees | Hosted by n8n, execution-based pricing, unlimited users/workflows/integrations | verified | Realized ACV, gross margin and churn not public |
| n8n Enterprise | Larger enterprises / regulated workloads | Custom pricing, 200+ concurrent executions, SSO/SAML/LDAP, external secret store, log streaming, dedicated support/SLA | verified | Enterprise contract terms and adoption not public |
| Self-host / Community Edition | Technical teams and developers wanting control | Self-host with fair-code license, npx/Docker distribution | verified | Community-to-paid conversion and support burden not public |
| AI orchestration / SAP Joule Studio embedding | Enterprise AI and SAP customers | AI workflows, multi-agent orchestration and Joule Studio embedding announced | partially_verified | Commercial terms, roadmap and revenue contribution not public |
Single public SKU matrix; private revenue by SKU needed.
| vendor | public unit | public entry or packaging | differentiation or risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| n8n | Monthly workflow executions regardless of complexity | Starter $20/mo annual; Pro $50/mo annual; Business $800/mo annual; Enterprise custom | Unlimited users/workflows/integrations can be attractive but cloud COGS per execution must be proven |
| Zapier | Tasks per month | Free plan includes 100 tasks/month; Professional and Team plans available | Task pricing can be expensive for complex automations but brand/channel strong |
| Workato | Flexible usage / platform editions | Standard, Business, Enterprise and Workato One; contact sales | Enterprise iPaaS competitor with procurement depth |
| Pipedream | Credits and active workflows | Free up to 100 credits/mo and 3 active workflows; paid production tiers | Developer workflow alternative |
| Tray.ai | Tasks and add-ons | Pro/Team/Enterprise with demo/contact sales | Positions around agents, MCP and intelligent automation |
Make.com pricing page was CAPTCHA-protected and is listed in limitations rather than used.
| area | public evidence | risk or question | status |
|---|---|---|---|
| License model | Sustainable Use License plus n8n Enterprise License; .ee code requires enterprise license | Does every customer use the correct rights for embedding/SaaS? | verified |
| Deployment | Cloud, npx and Docker/self-host options | Who operates backups, encryption and upgrades in self-hosted environments? | verified |
| Security compliance | SOC 2 alignment, SOC 3 report, Azure EU hosting, SAST, MFA/RBAC | Need actual reports, exceptions and incident history | partially_verified |
| Integration catalog | Public counters vary from 400+ to over 1,000 integrations and 9,500+ templates | Define maintained integrations and active templates | inconclusive |
Private security and license-compliance reviews required.
Public evidence verifies recognizable customer stories and strategic ecosystem signals, but top-customer revenue, concentration, churn, severed relationships and supplier spend are not public.
partially verified confidence: medium
Company-published case studies identify customers across telecom, food delivery, music, insurance, HR and IT operations, but they do not disclose the top-15 customers by revenue or purchase timing.
| customer | application or outcome | public metric | verification status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vodafone | Threat intelligence | Company case-study title says saved £2.2M | company-curated; customer call needed |
| Musixmatch | Engineering automation | 47 days of engineering work saved in 4 months | company-curated; contract value not public |
| Stepstone | Mission-critical workflows | More than 200 workflows; 25x faster integration claim | company-curated; revenue not public |
| Delivery Hero | IT operations workflow | 200 hours/month saved | company-curated; revenue not public |
| Huel, Icatu, Seguros Bolívar, Fullscript, Deda.Tech and others | AI culture, insurance innovation, HR/IT/operations | Named case-study logos/outcomes | company-curated; top-customer rank unknown |
Customer metrics are not a substitute for ARR by customer.
partially verified confidence: medium
SAP/Joule Studio is the clearest public strategic relationship; investor profiles and partner/community programs are visible but revenue contribution and contractual terms are private.
| partner | nature | public evidence | diligence gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAP | Strategic investment and multi-year commercial partnership | n8n to be embedded in Joule Studio; $5.2B valuation | Commercial agreement, exclusivity, revenue commitments, support obligations |
| Accel | Series C investor / portfolio company | Accel profile: AI workflow automation platform; October 2025 investment thesis link | Ownership, rights and board seat not public |
| Sequoia | Seed/Series A investor and portfolio profile | Sequoia describes n8n as free open node-based automation tool | Current ownership and rights not public |
| Community/experts/partners ecosystem | GTM and implementation network | Website links community, creators, partners, experts and support | Partner-sourced ARR and partner agreements not public |
Strategic-partner economics require contracts.
not publicly verifiable confidence: low
Public sources do not disclose any customer accounting for 5% or more of revenue, nor revenue by customer; concentration cannot be assessed from case studies alone.
| customer bucket | public revenue weight | evidence | request |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top customer | not_publicly_verifiable | Case studies name logos but no ARR weight | Top customer ARR, contract, renewal and margin |
| Top 5 customers | not_publicly_verifiable | No public concentration schedule | Top-5 ARR and % of total ARR |
| Customers above 5% of revenue | not_publicly_verifiable | No public disclosure | List all customers above 5% and mitigation plan |
| Enterprise/customer count definitions | inconclusive | Public counts vary by wording (3,000 enterprises vs 1,400 enterprise customers) | Definitions, paying-customer bridge and duplicate/org counting rules |
This is intentionally a gap table.
not publicly verifiable confidence: low
No public list of severed customer, partner or supplier relationships was found; absence of public evidence is not evidence of absence.
partially verified confidence: medium
Public evidence identifies Microsoft Azure as n8n Cloud hosting infrastructure and public distribution via GitHub/npm/Docker, but supplier spend, commitments and cloud concentration are private.
| supplier or platform | role | public evidence | risk or gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Azure | n8n Cloud hosting | Security page states n8n Cloud uses Azure and data stored in EU | Spend, commitments, regions, DR architecture and SLAs private |
| GitHub | Source repository, issues, releases | GitHub repo active with stars/forks/releases | Dependency on GitHub availability and community workflow; not supplier spend |
| npm / Docker distribution | Package/container distribution | npx/Docker instructions and npm package observed | Download/pull metrics and supply-chain controls not fully public |
| LLM/model providers | AI workflows/agents | AI-native and LLM workflow references in public materials | Model-provider mix, data processing and costs private |
Supplier concentration should be quantified with spend data.
n8n competes in a crowded workflow automation, integration-platform and AI-orchestration market; public pricing suggests n8n differentiates on execution-based pricing, self-hosting and code/no-code flexibility.
partially verified confidence: medium
Public competitor pages support a market map spanning SMB task automation, developer workflow platforms and enterprise iPaaS/agent orchestration; n8n’s differentiation is fair-code/self-hosting plus AI/code flexibility, but win/loss and market share are private.
| competitor | segment | public pricing or position | n8n overlap | n8n differentiator or risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zapier | SMB/product-led automation | Task-based plans; 100 tasks/month free plan | App automation and AI actions | n8n execution-based pricing and self-hosting; Zapier brand and app ecosystem |
| Workato | Enterprise automation/iPaaS | Flexible enterprise platform editions | Enterprise automation and integrations | n8n community/fair-code; Workato enterprise procurement depth |
| Pipedream | Developer workflow automation | Credits and active workflows | Developer workflows/API integration | n8n visual + self-host; Pipedream developer-centric serverless workflows |
| Tray.ai | Enterprise integration, agents and MCP | Tasks, plans and add-ons for agents/MCP/automation | Enterprise AI orchestration | n8n fair-code/community; Tray enterprise platform focus |
| Make and others | No-code/low-code workflow automation | Make pricing page was CAPTCHA-protected during research | Workflow automation | Need full pricing/feature benchmark |
A full win/loss study is required.
| axis | n8n public position | competitor pressure | evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing unit | Workflow executions regardless of complexity | Competitors use tasks, credits or custom enterprise usage | n8n and competitor pricing pages |
| Deployment/control | Cloud and self-host; fair-code source available | SaaS competitors may emphasize managed simplicity | README, Sequoia profile and license |
| AI orchestration | AI agents/LLM workflows and SAP Joule embedding | Tray/Zapier/Workato also market AI/agent capabilities | n8n/SAP and competitor pages |
| Enterprise trust | SOC program, case studies and SAP strategic investment | Workato and Tray have mature enterprise GTM | Security/case studies/SAP |
Scores are qualitative due lack of win/loss data.
Public GTM signals combine product-led/community-led adoption with enterprise sales, case studies, investors and strategic channels; CAC, channel mix, sales productivity and budget sufficiency are not public.
partially verified confidence: medium
n8n’s public GTM spans cloud free trials, self-host/community edition, case studies, community/forum/creators, partner/expert programs and enterprise plans.
| channel | public evidence | likely motion | gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self-service cloud trial | Pricing page start-free-trial CTAs; Starter/Pro/Business | Product-led entry | Visitor-to-paid conversion and CAC unknown |
| Community/self-host/open repository | GitHub README, fair-code license, community/forum links | Developer/community adoption and conversion | Conversion to paid enterprise not public |
| Enterprise sales | Business/Enterprise plans, SOC program, case studies | Sales-led enterprise procurement | Quotas, sales cycle and win rate unknown |
| Strategic/channel partnership | SAP Joule Studio commercial partnership | Embedded distribution / co-sell | Revenue share, exclusivity and integration cost unknown |
Channel mix is a private KPI.
not publicly verifiable confidence: low
Public logos and customer outcomes are strong, but account plans, expansion pipeline, renewal status and major-customer growth prospects are not public.
partially verified confidence: medium
Public evidence points to self-service cloud trials, open repository/community, templates/workflows, content/case studies, partner/expert programs and SAP/channel potential as avenues for new business.
| signal | metric or example | source | diligence need |
|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub awareness | 190,618 stars and 58,201 forks observed 2026-06-01 | GitHub API | Paid conversion by repository visitors/users |
| Case-study proof | Vodafone, Delivery Hero, Musixmatch, Stepstone and others | n8n case studies | Reference calls and ARR by logo |
| Investor/press halo | Highland, Accel, Sequoia, SAP public association | Investor/news pages | Inbound source attribution and conversion |
| Template/integration ecosystem | Public counters vary from 900+ to 9,500+ templates and 400+ to 1,000+ integrations | Website/GitHub/SAP release | Active/maintained catalog definitions |
Marketing signals are strong but not a CAC model.
not publicly verifiable confidence: low
Sales compensation, quotas, sales-cycle length and planned sales hiring were not publicly disclosed; only broad enterprise-expansion and team-growth statements were found.
| item | public status | why it matters | request |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales compensation and quota | not_publicly_verifiable | Determines scalable enterprise GTM efficiency | Sales comp plan, quota, attainment and ramp |
| Sales cycle and win rate | not_publicly_verifiable | Affects forecast predictability and CAC payback | Opportunity history, stage conversion and win/loss |
| Plan for new hires | partially_verified only as broad team-growth statement | Enterprise expansion requires capacity | Hiring plan by role/region and productivity assumptions |
| Pipeline analysis | not_publicly_verifiable | Determines revenue visibility | Pipeline by source, segment, region and expected close date |
This table is a diligence request list.
not publicly verifiable confidence: low
Public funding announcements imply budget for enterprise expansion, but no current/projected marketing budget or hiring plan was public.
Public technical signals show active R&D and releases, with AI orchestration and SAP integration as major roadmap themes; R&D budget, staffing and milestones remain private.
partially verified confidence: high
n8n’s repository is highly active and public, with a same-day release, broad contributor base and self-hosting/package distribution; current R&D org structure and budget are private.
| person or role | public role | source evidence | gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan Oberhauser | Founder & CEO; developer founder | TechCrunch and Highland quote founder/CEO; Wikipedia summary | Current technical leadership and delegation not public |
| Engineering/Product leadership | not_publicly_verifiable | Highland release says team growth across engineering/product/GTM | Names, reporting lines and tenure needed |
| Open-source/community contributors | Public contributor base | GitHub contributors pagination indicated 652 pages; top contributor janober | Employment status and maintainer rights not public |
Public people data is sparse.
| metric | observed value | date | interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | 190,618 | 2026-06-01 | Strong public developer awareness |
| GitHub forks | 58,201 | 2026-06-01 | High community experimentation/forking |
| Open issues | 1,496 | 2026-06-01 | Adoption and backlog; quality/triage review needed |
| Latest release | n8n@2.22.6 published 2026-06-01 | 2026-06-01 | Active release cadence |
| Contributor pagination | 652 pages at per_page=1 | 2026-06-01 | Broad contribution history; not same as employees |
Repository metrics are not revenue or quality metrics.
partially verified confidence: medium
Public roadmap signals emphasize AI agents/orchestration, business-critical production features and SAP Joule Studio embedding, but product timing, costs and critical dependencies are private.
| project | public status | expected timing | risk or request |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAP Joule Studio embedding | Strategic partnership announced | Multi-year commercial agreement; detailed milestones not public | Request integration plan, resourcing and revenue terms |
| AI agent workflows / LangChain / multi-agent orchestration | Public product/README and press positioning | Ongoing | Request model governance, evaluation and security review |
| Enterprise production features | Funding release cites business-critical production roadmap | not_publicly_verifiable | Request roadmap with release dates and customer commitments |
| Integration/template catalog expansion | Public counters vary and appear to be expanding | ongoing | Request maintained catalog definition and QA process |
Pipeline costs and schedule are private.
Founder identity and a stale 2021 headcount anchor are public, but current leadership roster, org chart, compensation, incentive plans, employee relations and turnover are not publicly verifiable.
not publicly verifiable confidence: low
Public sources identify Jan Oberhauser as founder/CEO and indicate functions expanding across engineering, product and GTM, but no current org chart is public.
not publicly verifiable confidence: low
The only quantified public headcount anchor found was a 16-person team in 2021; later sources indicate growth but not current function/location counts or projections.
| date | public headcount or signal | function or location | status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-04-26 | 16 people | Team overall; Berlin-based article context | verified but stale |
| 2025-03-24 | Significant team growth planned across engineering, product and go-to-market | New offices in New York and London; Berlin HQ context | partially_verified; no count |
| 2026-06-01 | Current headcount not public | Function/location not public | not_publicly_verifiable |
| Projected | not_publicly_verifiable | Function/location projections not public | not_publicly_verifiable |
Use as a chart anchor, not a full headcount history.
partially verified confidence: medium
Jan Oberhauser is publicly identified as founder/CEO; complete senior-management biographies and tenure details were not found in reliable public sources.
| name or role | publicly verified role | evidence | gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan Oberhauser | Founder & CEO | TechCrunch founder/CEO quote; Highland Founder & CEO quote; Wikipedia summary | Employment agreement, ownership and current reporting lines private |
| CFO / finance leader | not_publicly_verifiable | No reliable public source retrieved | Needed for financial controls and reporting diligence |
| CTO / VP Engineering / Product leader | not_publicly_verifiable | No reliable public source retrieved | Needed for R&D and security accountability |
| GTM / Sales leader | not_publicly_verifiable | No reliable public source retrieved | Needed for enterprise scaling plan |
Current leadership roster needs company confirmation.
not publicly verifiable confidence: low
Key employment agreements, compensation arrangements and benefit plans were not publicly available.
| topic | public status | risk | requested evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Executive compensation / employment agreements | not_publicly_verifiable | Cash burn, retention and change-of-control obligations | Agreements, severance, benefits and bonus plans |
| Equity incentive plan / option pool | not_publicly_verifiable | Dilution and retention risk | Plan, grants, vesting, strike prices and refresh policy |
| Employee relations | not_publicly_verifiable | Employment claims or compliance issues may be non-public | Claims, investigations, works-council/union matters and contractor classification |
| Turnover and retention | not_publicly_verifiable | Roadmap/GTM disruption | Monthly attrition by function/location and exit themes |
One table is referenced by multiple VII sections because these are related private HR items.
not publicly verifiable confidence: low
Option pool size, equity incentive plan terms, vesting and refresh practices are not public.
not publicly verifiable confidence: low
No reliable public employee-relations problem schedule was available; this cannot be cleared through public web research.
not publicly verifiable confidence: low
Personnel turnover for the last two years and retention-related benefit plans are not publicly disclosed.
Public legal/security/license pages identify important legal surfaces, but litigation, regulatory, IP registry, insurance and material-contract diligence requires company/counsel records.
not publicly verifiable confidence: low
No comprehensive public schedule of pending lawsuits against n8n was available; public sources reviewed do not support a clean no-litigation conclusion.
| case | court or docket | status | source or gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pending lawsuits against n8n | not_publicly_verifiable | No complete public schedule found | Counsel-led docket search and litigation schedule required |
| Customer/security/privacy claims | not_publicly_verifiable | Private unless filed or disclosed | Request claims, demands and incident-related correspondence |
| Employment claims | not_publicly_verifiable | Private unless filed or disclosed | Request employee-relations and employment-claim schedules |
This is a gap table, not a no-litigation opinion.
not publicly verifiable confidence: low
No public schedule of lawsuits initiated by n8n was available; enforcement, IP or contract claims require counsel confirmation.
| matter type | public record | verification status | request |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lawsuits initiated by n8n | No public schedule found | not_publicly_verifiable | Claims initiated, settlements and enforcement correspondence |
| Privacy/security regulatory actions | Security/legal pages describe controls but not regulatory correspondence | not_publicly_verifiable | Regulator correspondence, breach log, DPIAs and privacy complaints |
| License/IP enforcement | License model public; enforcement record not public | not_publicly_verifiable | IP/license enforcement actions and settlement terms |
Reference also supports VIII.G regulatory-action section.
not publicly verifiable confidence: low
As a software company, direct environmental/safety exposure appears lower than for industrial businesses, but office/remote-work health, safety and employment-compliance records are private.
partially verified confidence: medium
Material public IP evidence centers on repository copyrights, Sustainable Use License and Enterprise License; trademark/patent registry status was not comprehensively verified.
| asset | jurisdiction or scope | public status | diligence gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| n8n software codebase | Global copyright/license | Sustainable Use License for applicable code; enterprise code separately licensed | Contributor IP assignment and dependency compliance audit |
| Enterprise features / .ee files | n8n Enterprise License | Requires valid n8n Enterprise License | Customer terms and enforcement history |
| n8n brand/domain/trademarks | Germany/EU/US/global potential | Brand use public; registry status not comprehensively verified | Trademark docket and assignments |
| Patents | Global | not_publicly_verifiable | Patent search, invention assignments and freedom-to-operate review |
No patent/trademark registry export was retrieved.
not publicly verifiable confidence: low
Insurance policies, limits, exclusions and claim history were not public.
| area | public evidence | material exposure | request |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAP strategic/commercial agreement | Publicly announced strategic investment and Joule Studio embedding | Exclusivity, support, SLA, revenue share and roadmap obligations | Full SAP agreements and board approvals |
| Enterprise customer contracts | Enterprise plans, SOC reports to enterprise customers, case-study logos | Indemnities, SLAs, DPAs, data residency, termination/change-of-control | Top customer MSAs, order forms, DPAs and SLAs |
| Insurance | No policies public | Cyber/E&O/D&O coverage adequacy | Policies, limits, exclusions and claims history |
| Subprocessors/security | Azure EU hosting and security controls public | Privacy/security obligations and incident response | Subprocessor list, SOC reports, pen tests and incident log |
Material contracts are not public.
not publicly verifiable confidence: low
The SAP partnership and public terms are visible, but the material contract schedule, enterprise MSAs, SLAs and supplier agreements are private.
not publicly verifiable confidence: low
Public security/privacy materials reference GDPR and controls, but no public regulatory-action schedule was found; absence of public evidence is not a regulatory clearance.
| ID | Claim | Status | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| EC-001 | The assignment-supplied CB Insights row listed n8n as a Germany/Berlin Enterprise Tech unicorn with a $2.5B valuation, 2025-10-09 join date, and investors including Accel, Evantic Capital and Sequoia Capital. | partially verified medium | SRC-001 |
| EC-002 | TechCrunch reported that Berlin-based n8n raised a $1.5M seed round in March 2020 co-led by firstminute Capital and Sequoia, with participation from Runa Capital, Tiny VC, System.One and Kevin Hartz. | verified high | SRC-002 |
| EC-003 | TechCrunch reported n8n raised a $12M Series A in April 2021 led by Felicis, with Sequoia, firstminute and Harpoon participating; it cited a 16-person team, about 16,000 community members and around $14M raised to date. | verified high | SRC-003 |
| EC-004 | Highland Europe announced n8n raised €55M Series B in March 2025, led by Highland Europe with HV Capital and prior investors Sequoia, Felicis and Harpoon; the release claimed ARR grew 5x, active users exceeded 230,000 and more than 3,000 enterprises used n8n. | verified medium | SRC-004 |
| EC-005 | Tech Funding News reported that n8n secured a $180M Series C in October 2025 at a $2.5B valuation and cited investors including Accel, Meritech and Deutsche Telekom’s venture arm; it also claimed ARR had surpassed $40M. | partially verified medium | SRC-005 |
| EC-006 | Highland Europe announced in May 2026 that SAP made a strategic investment and multi-year commercial partnership with n8n, valuing n8n at $5.2B, more than double its prior $2.5B valuation, and planning to embed n8n into SAP Joule Studio. | verified medium | SRC-006 |
| EC-007 | n8n public pricing is execution-based and advertises unlimited users, workflows and integrations on all plans; annual list prices shown were Starter $20/month, Pro $50/month and Business $800/month, with Enterprise custom. | verified high | SRC-007 |
| EC-008 | n8n’s GitHub README describes the product as a secure workflow automation platform for technical teams with 400+ integrations, native AI capabilities, self-hosting or cloud deployment, and a fair-code license. | verified high | SRC-008 |
| EC-009 | GitHub and npm public metadata on 2026-06-01 showed n8n had 190,618 GitHub stars, 58,201 forks, 1,496 open issues, a latest release n8n@2.22.6 published on 2026-06-01, about 652 contributor pages, and npm latest version 2.22.6 modified on 2026-06-01. | verified high | SRC-008SRC-016 |
| EC-010 | n8n is source-available under the Sustainable Use License with separate enterprise-licensed code; files with .ee names or directories are not licensed under the SUL and require a valid n8n Enterprise License. | verified high | SRC-009 |
| EC-011 | n8n’s security page states that it aligns its security program to SOC 2, provides SOC 2 reports to enterprise customers, offers a SOC 3 report, hosts n8n Cloud on Microsoft Azure in the EU, and describes encryption, MFA, SAST and vulnerability-management controls. | partially verified medium | SRC-011 |
| EC-012 | n8n’s case-study page lists public customer stories including Vodafone, Huel, Icatu, Seguros Bolívar, Fullscript, Deda.Tech, Musixmatch, Stepstone and Delivery Hero, with claimed outcomes such as Vodafone saving £2.2M, Musixmatch saving 47 days of engineering work, Stepstone running more than 200 workflows and Delivery Hero saving 200 hours/month. | verified medium | SRC-010 |
| EC-013 | Sequoia’s profile describes n8n as a free open node-based workflow automation tool that can be self-hosted, extended and used with third-party web applications or internal tools. | verified medium | SRC-014 |
| EC-014 | Accel’s profile identifies n8n as an AI workflow automation platform and links to Accel’s October 2025 investment thesis. | verified medium | SRC-015 |
| EC-015 | Wikipedia’s 2026 page/API summarizes n8n GmbH as a German software company providing a visual programming language for automating workflows, founded in 2019 in Berlin by Jan Oberhauser, with Jan identified as founder/CEO. | partially verified medium | SRC-013SRC-004 |
| EC-016 | Public competitor pricing pages show alternative automation platforms use different units: Zapier emphasizes monthly tasks, Workato flexible enterprise pricing/editions, Pipedream credits and active workflows, and Tray.ai tasks/plans for automation, MCP and agents. | verified medium | SRC-017SRC-018SRC-019SRC-020 |
| EC-017 | Public sources do not disclose n8n revenue by customer, top-customer percentages, churn, backlog or contract terms; public case studies identify logos but not revenue weights. | not publicly verifiable high | SRC-010SRC-004SRC-006 |
| EC-018 | Audited financial statements, management accounts, cap table, debt instruments, tax positions, AR aging, backlog, revenue recognition and unit economics were not publicly available; only financing, pricing and company-supplied ARR/growth signals were found. | not publicly verifiable high | SRC-004SRC-005SRC-007 |
| EC-019 | n8n’s legal page centralizes public terms, privacy, data-processing, EULA and vulnerability-reporting links. | verified high | SRC-012 |
| EC-020 | No complete public litigation, regulatory-action, insurance or material-contract schedule was available from the reviewed sources; public web searches were rate-limited and did not substitute for counsel-led docket searches. | not publicly verifiable medium | SRC-012SRC-011 |
| EC-021 | n8n’s public package distribution supports npm and Docker deployment, with npm latest n8n@2.22.6 as of 2026-06-01 and README Docker run instructions. | verified high | SRC-008SRC-016 |
| EC-022 | There is a valuation-timing inconsistency: the CB/Series C sources support $2.5B around October 2025, while a May 2026 Highland/SAP announcement says the valuation doubled to $5.2B. | verified medium | SRC-001SRC-005SRC-006 |
| EC-023 | Public R&D/product roadmap signals emphasize AI orchestration, business-critical production features, enterprise expansion and SAP Joule Studio embedding. | partially verified medium | SRC-004SRC-006SRC-008 |
| EC-024 | Public headcount evidence is sparse: TechCrunch cited a 16-person team in 2021, while 2025 materials discussed significant team growth without disclosing current headcount by function/location. | partially verified medium | SRC-003SRC-004 |
| EC-025 | Public GTM signals include cloud/self-host deployment, free trials, community edition, case studies, forum/community, creators, partners, experts and enterprise plans. | verified medium | SRC-007SRC-008SRC-010SRC-021 |
| EC-026 | Public customer-count language appears inconsistent or definition-dependent: March 2025 press said more than 3,000 enterprises; May 2026 press said more than 1,400 enterprise customers plus 1.7M monthly active developers/builders. | inconclusive medium | SRC-004SRC-006 |
| EC-027 | Public integration/template counters vary by source: GitHub README says 400+ integrations and 900+ templates; website navigation referenced 9,500+ workflow templates; the May 2026 SAP partnership release referenced over 1,000 integrations. | inconclusive medium | SRC-006SRC-007SRC-008 |
| EC-028 | Management compensation, incentive plans, employee relations, turnover, tax, insurance and material contract schedules are not publicly verifiable from reviewed sources. | not publicly verifiable high | SRC-012SRC-018 |
This report is a public-evidence diligence snapshot, not investment advice. Important financial, legal, technical, and contractual facts remain non-public and should be verified directly with management and primary documents before any investment decision.