Postman announced it has acquired Fern, a developer experience company that helps businesses publish API documentation and generate software development kits, in a move aimed at making it easier for teams to build and ship APIs that are simpler for developers to adopt.
The deal brings Fern’s documentation and SDK tooling into Postman’s API collaboration platform at a time when companies are increasingly treating APIs as products and prioritizing developer experience as a differentiator. Postman did not disclose financial terms.
Fern, founded in 2022 and headquartered in New York City, offers two core products: Fern Docs, which lets API teams publish customizable documentation tied closely to their underlying API, and the Fern SDK Generator, which produces client SDKs designed to be idiomatic and production-ready across nine major programming languages. The company positions its tools as a way to reduce the ongoing effort required to maintain docs and libraries as APIs evolve.
Postman, which is based in San Francisco, said the acquisition reinforces its focus on improving how APIs are built, documented and consumed. The company’s platform is widely used for API design, testing, and collaboration, and it has expanded in recent years to address broader API lifecycle needs, including governance and team workflows.
Under the agreement, Postman said the entire Fern team will join Postman and continue building Fern. Fern’s product, brand and roadmap will remain unchanged, according to the companies, and existing customers are expected to see the same product experience, now supported by Postman’s scale and resources.
Fern said more than 200 companies, including Square, Auth0, Adobe, Twilio and ElevenLabs, use its tools to support adoption of public APIs. Postman said its platform is used by more than 40 million developers and roughly 500,000 organizations worldwide, including 98% of the Fortune 500, giving Fern an expanded distribution channel for its documentation and SDK offerings.
Postman is privately held and has raised capital from investors including Battery Ventures, BOND, Coatue, CRV, Insight Partners and Nexus Venture Partners.
KEY QUOTES:
“Great APIs are defined by great developer experiences. Fern shares our belief that documentation and SDKs are critical to API adoption. By bringing Fern into the Postman family, we’re helping more teams deliver APIs that developers love to use.”
Abhinav Asthana, CEO and Co-Founder, Postman
“We started Fern in 2022 to make it easier for businesses to offer world-class developer experiences. Joining Postman allows us to accelerate that mission while staying focused on what we do best: helping teams deliver great docs and SDKs for their APIs.”
Danny Sheridan, Co-Founder, Fern
