By the end of 2022, the fervor of AI swept through the entire tech industry. The reactions of most companies were surprisingly consistent: add an AI feature to their product. Note-taking software with summaries, CRM with email writing—appearing safe and reasonable.

n8n's founder, Jan Oberhauser, however, felt something was wrong. He realized that these 'add-on' AI features couldn't create a true moat. Users might be impressed, but they wouldn't necessarily pay. If n8n followed this path, it would inevitably be eliminated in the long run.

The real opportunity doesn't lie in 'using' AI, but in 'becoming' part of the AI ecosystem.


The turning point came from a company called Pinecone. This vector database company completed a $100 million funding round, shifting its positioning from 'vector database' to 'AI memory database'. Jan had an epiphany: n8n should also become an infrastructure that all AI applications cannot do without.

The core value of n8n is to allow users to build, orchestrate, and deploy their AI applications like building with blocks. From 'automation workflows' to the 'AI application orchestration layer', this value chain repositioning defined n8n's life and death in the AI era.

The implementation is divided into three steps:

First is the value chain repositioning. n8n introduced a series of advanced AI nodes, such as 'AI Agent', 'Vector Database', and 'Output Parser'. Features that previously required engineers to write hundreds of lines of code can now be achieved by dragging a few nodes in the visual interface.

Second is lowering the technical barrier. Jan found that AI application development 'concept is sexy, but the process is tormenting'. n8n encapsulates all complexity, so users don't need to worry about what happens behind the scenes—they just need to click a few times to connect LLMs, vector databases, and external API tools.

Third is maintaining neutrality and openness. n8n doesn't take sides with any large model or bind to any vector database. Whether users use OpenAI, Google Gemini, or open-source models, n8n can serve as a neutral 'orchestration layer' to connect everything.

Jan compared n8n's ultimate vision to 'Excel in the AI era'. The greatness of Excel lies in giving ordinary people the ability to handle data without becoming programmers. n8n wants to be that 'default platform' in the AI era—it doesn't produce models, but makes it easy for everyone to use, combine, and master various models.

The result of this strategic transformation is remarkable. When the community discovered that n8n is the simplest and most powerful tool for building AI applications, the content created around it began to grow explosively. In 8 months, n8n's revenue grew by four times.

Of course, this 'downward' strategy is not something everyone can replicate. It requires a team to have a deep insight into technology trends and the courage to choose a harder but longer-term path.

When a huge technology wave comes, don't just focus on the most visible waves. Sometimes, the real opportunity lies in becoming that invisible ocean that can carry all the waves.

Source: Sequoia Building the Universal AI Automation Layer ft n8n CEO Jan Oberhauser

https://youtube.com/watch?v=RUHU-w4Lz1I