APIs as Graphs not Endpoints, building a company on open source foundations, why VPs of Engineering face impossible trade-offs | Apollo GraphQL CEO Matt DeBergalis

### About the episode:Join Nataraj as he interviews Matt DeBergalis, CEO of Apollo GraphQL, about the evolution of GraphQL from an open-source project to a product company. Matt shares insights on building and scaling APIs, the challenges of transitioning open-source tech into a viable business, and how AI is reshaping API development. Discover how Apollo is helping companies of all sizes leverage GraphQL to build agentic experiences and modernize their API strategies.### What you’ll learn- Understand the journey of GraphQL from open source to a product-driven company.- Explore the challenges of adopting and scaling GraphQL in enterprise environments.- Discover how GraphQL simplifies complex data combinations with its declarative language.- Learn how Apollo GraphQL helps companies accelerate the development of robust APIs.- Examine the role of GraphQL in building modern agentic experiences powered by AI.- Understand how to balance short-term shipping pressures with long-term architectural considerations.- Identify when GraphQL makes sense for a company based on its API size and consumption needs.- Discover how AI is driving increased API consumption and transforming user interfaces.### About the Guest and Host:Guest Name: Matt DeBergalis is the Co-founder and CEO of Apollo GraphQL, previously CTO and Co-founder at Meteor Development Group.Connect with Guest:→ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debergalis/→ Website: https://www.apollographql.com/Nataraj: Host of the Startup Project podcast, Senior PM at Azure & Investor.→ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natarajsindam/→ Twitter: https://x.com/natarajsindam→ Substack: ⁠https://startupproject.substack.com/⁠→ Website: ⁠⁠⁠https://thestartupproject.io⁠⁠⁠### In this episode, we cover(00:01) Introduction to Matt DeBergalis and Apollo GraphQL(00:37) Matt's journey and the origins of Apollo GraphQL(03:24) The transition from open source to a company(05:02) GraphQL as a client-focused API technology(07:22) Meta's approach to open source technologies(10:11) Challenges of converting open source to a business(13:11) Balancing shipping speed with architectural considerations(15:52) The risk of adopting the wrong technology(19:13) The evolution of full-stack development(23:57) When does adopting GraphQL make sense?(26:45) Apollo's customer scale and focus(31:48) Acquiring customers and marketing to developers(33:52) Matt's transition from CTO to CEO(37:02) Apollo's sales motion and target audience(40:24) Matt's thoughts on AI and its impact(47:12) How AI is changing business metricsDon’t forget to subscribe and leave us a review/comment on YouTube Apple Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.#GraphQL #ApolloGraphQL #API #OpenSource #Enterprise #AI #AgenticAI #APIDevelopment #Startup #Technology #SoftwareDevelopment #GraphQLAdoption #Kubernetes #React #FullStack #DataAnalytics #Innovation #DigitalTransformation #TechStrategy #Podcast