Camunda is a company that enables organizations to orchestrate and automate processes across people, systems, and devices to continuously overcome complexity, increase efficiency, and fully operationalize AI. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Camunda CEO Jakob Freund to learn more about the company.
Jakob Freund’s Background
What is Jakob Freund’s background? Freund said:
“I’ve always had a keen interest in technology − I read Bill Gates’ autobiography as a child and truly admired his early work at Microsoft. This also motivated me to study Computer Science at HTW Berlin – University of Applied Sciences, where I gained a master’s degree. Not too long after finishing university, my co-founder Bernd Rücker and I founded Camunda, which originally started as a consulting business. We found that there wasn’t a solution for a particular automation problem − process orchestration − which prompted us to start developing our own software. The first version of Camunda was brought to market in 2013, and in 2016, we published our book ‘Real-Life BPMN,’ which has become a go-to resource for process modeling. We built the company over the following years to grow to $100 million in annual recurring revenue in 2024 with 500 Camundi – that’s what we call ourselves at Camunda – , 160+ partners, to serve more than 700 enterprise customers, and support over 100,000 orchestrators.”
How did the idea for the company come together? Freund shared:
“As I briefly mentioned in my first answer, Bernd and I never intended to found a software company. We started off in 2008 as a consulting business in the automation space. We later discovered that a tool that could orchestrate a process didn’t exist.”
“The name Camunda comes from the Latin verbs ‘capere’ (“to capture”) and “munda” (“clean”). It means that we’re capturing our opportunity and doing what it takes to win and serve our customers.”
Favorite Memory
What has been Freund’s favorite memory working for the company so far? Freund reflected:
“I have so many. As we’re a 100% remote company, I get to work with such a diverse and inspiring group of people from all around the world. It’s incredibly enriching to work with individuals who bring unique perspectives and experiences to the table.”
“From a business perspective, it’s always rewarding to see the real-world impact Camunda has on organizations automating business-critical processes. There are so many aspects that highlight the significance of our work − from orchestrating and automating core processes like payments for some of the largest banks in the world to knowing that NASA uses Camunda to orchestrate their operations in space.”
Core Products And Features
What are the company’s core products and features? Freund explained:
“Camunda’s core focus is on process orchestration, ensuring businesses can better coordinate processes across people, systems, and devices. Last year, we expanded our capabilities to become both a process orchestration and automation platform, introducing Camunda RPA for robotic process automation and Camunda IDP for intelligent document processing. We have also introduced Camunda Co-Pilot to improve productivity for IT and business users. Powered by AI, Camunda Co-Pilot provides suggestions and guidance in Camunda Modeler, helping organizations unlock faster and more efficient end-to-end process modeling.”
“As organizations look to adopt AI and automate at scale, they must integrate all their components in a coherent, orchestrated manner to fully realize the value of their investments and to stay competitive. One advantage of our composable architecture is that organizations can operationalize AI in an easy way to fully leverage its potential. In addition to this, our new automation capabilities give customers the freedom to build an integrated, yet flexible architecture tailored to their specific automation needs.”
Challenges Faced
What challenges have Freund and the team faced in building the company? Freund acknowledged:
“Our journey has come with its fair share of challenges, but guess that’s part of the journey.”
“In 2013, we navigated the transition from being a consulting company to becoming a software company − all without any outside funding. Then, from 2014 to 2020, we faced the challenge of turning a team primarily based in Germany into a truly international company, with our strongest growth in the U.S.”
“More recently, from 2020 to 2023, we tackled one of our biggest cultural shifts yet. Reconfiguring a 150+ person company with a 12-year, office-based culture into a completely remote organization. Each of these challenges has been instrumental in shaping the company we are today, pushing us to adapt, innovate, and grow.”
Evolution Of The Company’s Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since launching? Freund noted:
“Since launching, our technology has evolved a great deal, driven by our commitment to innovation. The launch of Camunda 8 in 2022 was a milestone, introducing a cloud-native architecture to orchestrate complex workflows at scale and even more reliably. Since then, we’ve continued to push boundaries, especially through advancements in AI.”
“Today, we’re looking to AI to redefine what’s possible in process orchestration and automation. As I’ve touched on before, Camunda Co-Pilot was developed to boost IT and business user productivity, enabling faster and more efficient end-to-end process modeling through AI-powered suggestions. In addition, our AI connectors enable businesses to seamlessly integrate AI into their processes, orchestrating AI/ML tools and services in the same way as other process endpoints.”
“As conversations surrounding agentic AI ramp up, Camunda also now provides a wide range of out-of-the-box AI agents, with the flexibility to build custom agents for specific tasks. These agents are integrated into BPMN-modeled workflows, enhancing process automation and driving business efficiency while ensuring governance and compliance.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Freund cited:
“Back in September 2024, we reached one of our most significant milestones by crossing the $100 million mark in annual recurring revenue (ARR), subsequently reaching Centaur status. This reflects our market-relevance as well as the trust we’ve built with our customers.”
“Looking back, I remember pitching Camunda to a group of mentors about ten years ago. They candidly told me that they didn’t think this would ever become a $100 million business. At the time, we didn’t have any customers in the US and were still finding our feet as a software company. In hindsight, I can see why they had those reservations, and I’m all the more glad and grateful that we figured it out. My gratitude goes to our team, customers, partners, and overall community – to everyone who helped us get here.”
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) size is the company pursuing? Freund assessed:
“The total addressable market we’re pursuing is around $25 billion for process orchestration and automation.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Freund affirmed:
“Many companies are only just starting to recognize how important process orchestration is to effectively automate. But this has always been our focus and has been built into the foundations of our company. Businesses want the ability to streamline operations, reduce complexity, and scale effectively. While many automation tools focus on specific tasks or siloed processes, Camunda enables end-to-end automation, offering a unified approach to design, automate, manage and optimize entire workflows.”
“As automation companies are only beginning to offer process orchestration tools now, Camunda’s early focus on the concept has marked us as a leader. Camunda has years of experience in helping organizations orchestrate and improve processes — no matter where they are and what they entail.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future goals? Freund pointed out:
“Our future goals are centered around continuing the incredible growth and success we’ve achieved in recent years − and accelerating it even further.”
“Looking to the future, process orchestration will be playing an even more of a critical role in the digital world, as businesses increasingly rely on it for efficiency, and resilience. As a company, we’re focused on strengthening our position as the leader in process orchestration and automation, continuously setting new standards for the technology. Overall, our goal is to empower organizations to tackle their most complex workflows with ease, ensuring they are well equipped to thrive despite the business landscape rapidly evolving around them.”
Additional Thoughts
Any other topics you would like to discuss? Freund concluded:
“Process orchestration is becoming an integral technology with industry analysts and other software vendors now talking about orchestration. In fact, earlier this year, Gartner announced a new concept called Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies (BOAT). Gartner emphasized ‘orchestration’ is what is driving automation – and process orchestration is in our DNA. As we see Gartner publish more research on BOAT, organizations need to think about both their short-term technical challenges and their long-term business goals. Process orchestration very well could be the key to addressing those challenges, operationalizing AI and orchestrating the most critical processes from end-to-end to deliver lasting automation value.”
