Twilio Inc.
Company History
Twilio History: Founding, Growth & Key Milestones
Founded 2008 in Seattle, Washington, United States
When was Twilio founded?
Twilio was founded in 2008 in Seattle, Washington, United States by Jeff Lawson, John Wolthuis and Evan Cooke, making it 18 years old.
- Founded
- 2008
- Founding place
- Seattle, Washington, United States
- Founders
- Jeff Lawson, John Wolthuis and Evan Cooke
- Headquarters today
- San Francisco, California, United States
- Milestones documented
- 12 (2008–2026)
- Current CEO
- Khozema Shipchandler
- Acquisitions
- 4
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2008 | Company Founded |
| 2010 | SMS API Launched |
| 2015 | Authy Acquired |
| 2016 | NYSE IPO |
| 2018 | Twilio Flex Announced |
| 2019 | SendGrid Acquisition |
| 2020 | Segment Acquisition |
| 2021 | Revenue Passes $2.8 Billion |
| 2023 | Restructuring |
| 2024 | CEO Transition |
| 2025 | First Full-Year GAAP Profit and Stytch Deal |
| 2026 | Growth Re-accelerates |
- Where was Twilio founded?
- Twilio was founded in Seattle, Washington, United States in 2008. en.wikipedia.org
- Who founded Twilio?
- Twilio was founded by Jeff Lawson, John Wolthuis and Evan Cooke.
- When did Twilio start?
- Twilio was founded in 2008.
- How old is Twilio?
- Twilio is 18 years old as of 2026.
Founding Story
Jeff Lawson, Evan Cooke, and John Wolthuis founded Twilio in 2008. Lawson, who had worked on early Amazon Web Services products, wanted to make telephone calls and text messages as easy for developers to use as cloud servers. Twilio launched its voice API in 2008 and added SMS in 2010, charging per use with no carrier contracts. Developers adopted the product first and then brought it into their employers, a bottom-up model Lawson later described in his book Ask Your Developer. Twilio listed on the NYSE in June 2016, bought SendGrid for email in 2019 and Segment for customer data in 2020, and grew rapidly through the pandemic. Losses, a 2022 phishing breach, and activist pressure led to layoffs in 2022 and 2023 and Lawson's departure as CEO in January 2024.
Founders
Jeff Lawson
Jeff Lawson co-founded Twilio in 2008 and was CEO until January 2024, leading it through its 2016 IPO and the SendGrid and Segment acquisitions. He wrote Ask Your Developer (2021) about developer-led software. Jeff Lawson was born in 1977.
John Wolthuis
John Wolthuis co-founded Twilio in 2008. He architected the initial telephony backend that allowed developers to send text messages and make phone calls using a simple web API. By completely hiding the incredibly complex, legacy telecom infrastructure behind clean code, Wolthuis built the technical foundation that allowed Twilio to rapidly dominate the developer communications market. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).
Evan Cooke
Evan Cooke co-founded Twilio and served as its first CTO. He was instrumental in designing the company's highly reliable cloud architecture, ensuring the API could scale to handle massive, instantaneous spikes in SMS traffic (such as during Uber surges or Airbnb bookings). He left the company in 2012 to return to academia and public service. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).
Key Milestones
Company Founded
Jeff Lawson, Evan Cooke, and John Wolthuis founded Twilio and launched its first voice API for developers.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgSMS API Launched
Twilio added programmable SMS, which became its largest product line.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgAuthy Acquired
Twilio acquired the two-factor authentication company Authy in 2015.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgNYSE IPO
Twilio listed on the NYSE under the ticker TWLO in June 2016, pricing shares at $15.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgTwilio Flex Announced
Twilio announced Flex, its programmable contact-centre platform, in March 2018.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgSendGrid Acquisition
Twilio completed its all-stock acquisition of email platform SendGrid, announced at about $2 billion.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgSegment Acquisition
Twilio acquired customer data platform Segment for about $3.2 billion, its largest deal.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgRevenue Passes $2.8 Billion
Twilio reported FY2021 revenue of $2.842 billion, up 61% year over year, with a net loss of $949.9 million.
Source: sec.govRestructuring
Twilio cut about 17% of its workforce in February 2023 and made further reductions later in the year as it shifted toward profitability.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgCEO Transition
Co-founder Jeff Lawson stepped down as CEO in January 2024 and Khozema Shipchandler succeeded him.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgFirst Full-Year GAAP Profit and Stytch Deal
Twilio reported FY2025 revenue of $5.067 billion and net income of $33.8 million, and completed its acquisition of identity platform Stytch on November 14, 2025.
Source: sec.govGrowth Re-accelerates
Twilio reported Q2 2026 revenue of $1.50 billion, up 22%, and raised its 2026 revenue growth outlook to 18%-18.5%.
Source: twilio.comMajor Acquisitions
Stytch
2025Add identity and authentication for developers and AI agents alongside Verify.
Zipwhip
2021Strengthen toll-free business texting in North America.
Segment
2020Combine first-party customer data with Twilio communications.
SendGrid
2019Add email delivery to voice and messaging.
Keep researching Twilio
Twilio Company History FAQ
When, where, and by whom was Twilio founded?
Twilio was founded in March 2008 in Seattle, Washington, by Jeff Lawson, Evan Cooke, and John Wolthuis, quickly moving its headquarters to San Francisco, California, to pioneer cloud communications APIs.
What inspired Jeff Lawson to create Twilio in 2008?
Having worked as an early product manager at Amazon Web Services (AWS), Jeff Lawson realized that while computing and storage had moved to the cloud, telecommunications remained trapped in complex hardware and carrier contracts, inspiring him to turn voice and SMS into simple web APIs.
What was Twilio's famous first product launch demo in 2008?
In November 2008, Twilio launched Twilio Voice. In an iconic tech demo, Jeff Lawson famously showed venture capitalist Dave McClure how to write just three lines of Python code to trigger an automated phone call to McClure's mobile phone live onstage.
When did Twilio introduce Programmable SMS?
Twilio launched its Programmable SMS API in February 2010, allowing developers to send and receive text messages globally with a single API call, which became the critical infrastructure behind early mobile unicorns like Uber, Airbnb, and WhatsApp.
What was the significance of Twilio's 2016 Initial Public Offering (IPO)?
Twilio debuted on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: TWLO) on June 23, 2016, priced at $15 per share. It was widely hailed as the tech IPO that reopened the public markets for enterprise SaaS after an extended drought, surging over 90% on its first day.
Why did Twilio acquire SendGrid for $3 billion in 2019?
In February 2019, Twilio acquired leading transactional email platform SendGrid in an all-stock deal valued at $3.0 billion, instantly adding email communications to its SMS and voice APIs and bringing hundreds of billions of emails per year onto its network.
What did the $3.2 billion acquisition of Segment in 2020 achieve?
In November 2020, Twilio acquired leading Customer Data Platform (CDP) Segment for $3.2 billion to combine real-time customer data tracking with programmable communications, transforming Twilio into an end-to-end Customer Engagement Platform (CEP).
How did Twilio perform during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Twilio experienced unprecedented hypergrowth during the pandemic as businesses rushed to digitize customer service, telehealth, and delivery notifications, driving revenues up over 60% annually and pushing its market valuation past $60 billion.
What led to activist investor pressure and executive restructuring in 2023–2024?
Following post-pandemic demand normalization, heavy GAAP losses, and a steep stock decline, activist investors (including Legion Partners and Anson Funds) pushed for profitability. Twilio cut headcount by ~30%, and co-founder Jeff Lawson stepped down as CEO in January 2024.
When did Khozema Shipchandler become CEO and what was his strategic turnaround?
Khozema Shipchandler, formerly Twilio's CFO and President of Communications, became CEO on January 8, 2024. He enforced strict operational efficiency, rationalized stock-based compensation, and drove Twilio to its first full-year GAAP profit in 2025.
When did Twilio achieve its first full-year GAAP net profitability?
In FY2025, Twilio recorded its historic first full-year GAAP net profit, generating $5.067 billion in revenue and $33.8 million in GAAP net income, followed by explosive free cash flow expansion in 2026.
How has Twilio adapted its platform to power autonomous AI agents?
At SIGNAL 2025 and 2026, Twilio rolled out specialized voice and messaging infrastructure for generative AI agents, allowing autonomous AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google to hold real-time, low-latency phone conversations and send verified notifications.
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