Postman evolved from a simple API-testing Chrome extension into a global API development and management platform.
Discover how Abhinav Asthana, Ankit Sobti and Abhijit Kane transformed a simple API-testing tool into Postman, one of India’s most valuable SaaS companies.
Written by TFN Research Desk | covering startups, technology, venture capital, and business strategy
Quick Facts
| Founders | Abhinav Asthana, Abhijit Kane, Ankit Sobti |
| Education | Abhinav Asthana, Ankit Sobti – IIT Roorkee; Ankit Sobti – MBA, Indian School of Business |
| Prior Ventures | Abhinav Asthana – Founder, TeliportMe; Software Engineer, Yahoo; Ankit Sobti – Adobe, Yahoo; Abhijit Kane – Software Engineer, Tally Solutions |
| Role | Co-Founder and CEO, Postman (Abhinav Asthana); Co-Founder and CTO (Ankit Sobti) |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Sector | API Development / SaaS |
Introduction
Postman began as a Chrome extension Abhinav Asthana built purely to scratch his own itch. As a Yahoo intern, he and future co-founder Ankit Sobti kept shipping code that broke in production because there was no good way to test and debug APIs before deployment. (Insight Partners) Asthana built a simple tool to fix that for himself, released it on the Chrome Web Store, and watched it spread to half a million users with zero marketing. (Insight Partners) That organic pull convinced him to formally launch Postman as a company in 2014, alongside Sobti and Abhijit Kane. (OrangeOwl) Postman has since become one of the most valuable SaaS companies to come out of India. (Medium)
The Postman Story
Before founding Postman, Asthana had already tried entrepreneurship once with TeliportMe, a startup where he worked alongside Kane, and had encountered the same API-testing frustration yet again while managing a team of engineers. (Insight Partners) Sobti, meanwhile, brought engineering experience from Adobe and Yahoo, having originally faced the identical problem alongside Asthana during their internship years. (Baidu Baike)
After leaving TeliportMe in 2013 with little savings, Asthana supported himself through consulting while building out Postman nearly full-time, eventually recruiting Sobti and Kane once the Chrome extension’s traction made the opportunity obvious. (Insight Partners) Google itself took notice of the extension’s popularity and featured it, further accelerating its organic growth within the developer community. (Baidu Baike)
Once formally incorporated, the founders expanded well beyond the original Chrome extension into web and desktop clients, gradually building out a full API lifecycle platform covering design, testing, documentation, and monitoring. (Baidu Baike) That expansion, combined with a product-led, freemium growth strategy, helped Postman scale to over 17 million developers and 500,000-plus organizations, including Microsoft, Salesforce, Stripe, and PayPal, without relying on aggressive traditional marketing. (TechCrunch)
Business Model
Postman earns revenue primarily through tiered SaaS subscriptions layered on top of a free core product:
| Revenue Stream | How It Works |
|---|---|
| Freemium subscriptions | Free individual tier, with paid plans for teams needing collaboration and higher usage limits |
| Enterprise plans | API governance, monitoring, and security features sold to larger organizations |
| Postman AI Agent Builder | Newer tools for building and testing AI-ready APIs and agents |
| Acquired capabilities | Technology from acquisitions like liblab and Fern, expanding SDK and API-lifecycle tooling |
(Sourced from Tracxn)
Funding History
| Round | Year | Amount | Key Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Series A | Oct 2016 | Undisclosed | Nexus Venture Partners |
| Series B | Jun 2019 | Undisclosed | CRV, Nexus Venture Partners |
| Series C | Jun 2020 | $150 million | Insight Partners ($2B valuation) |
| Series D | Aug 2021 | $225 million | Insight Partners (lead), Coatue, Battery Ventures, BOND ($5.6B valuation) |
(Sourced from TechCrunch and Insight Partners)
Overall, Postman has raised more than $430-434 million across its funding history, reaching a $5.6 billion valuation in 2021, which made it the most valuable SaaS startup to come out of India at the time, surpassing BrowserStack. (SiliconIndia) The company has continued expanding through acquisitions, including liblab in November 2025 and Fern in December 2025, both aimed at strengthening its unified API lifecycle platform. (Tracxn)
Recent Developments
Postman has increasingly positioned itself around the rise of AI agents, launching enterprise features specifically for building and testing “AI-ready” APIs in late 2025. (Tracxn) Notable individual investors in the company include Freshworks founder Girish Mathrubootham and DoorDash product leader Gokul Rajaram, reflecting the close-knit nature of the Indian-origin SaaS founder community backing one another’s companies. (Insight Partners)
Postman vs Competitors
Postman competes with SmartBear Software, National Instruments, and StackHawk in the API testing and management space. (PitchBook) Its early product-led growth strategy, letting individual developers adopt the tool freely before selling into their organizations, has remained central to how it competes against more sales-led enterprise rivals.
Key Takeaways
- Abhinav Asthana, Ankit Sobti, and Abhijit Kane founded Postman in 2014, building on a Chrome extension Asthana created to solve his own API-testing frustrations.
- The company scaled to over 17 million developers and 500,000-plus organizations largely through organic, product-led growth.
- Postman has raised more than $430 million to date, reaching a $5.6 billion valuation in 2021, making it India’s most valuable SaaS startup at the time.
- The company has continued expanding through acquisitions like liblab and Fern, and is now investing heavily in tools for AI-ready APIs and agents.
- Postman competes with SmartBear Software, National Instruments, and StackHawk in the API testing and management market.
FAQs
Who founded Postman?
Abhinav Asthana, Ankit Sobti, and Abhijit Kane founded Postman in 2014, building on a Chrome extension Asthana had created two years earlier.
How much funding has Postman raised?
More than $430 million, reaching a $5.6 billion valuation in 2021.
Is Postman a public company?
No, it remains privately held.
Who are Postman’s competitors?
SmartBear Software, National Instruments, and StackHawk in the API testing and management space.
© The Founder Nation | Written by TFN Research Desk
