APIs power the modern internet, but they’re still a mess to work with.
In this episode, Simon Yu, Co-founder of Speakeasy, explains how they’re changing the game. From automated SDKs and Terraform providers to agent-ready MCP servers, Speakeasy is redefining how APIs are built, shared, and consumed. We also dig into how AI fits into the future of developer tooling and agentic workflows.
00:00 - API development is broken
00:24 - Meet Simon Yu, Co-founder of Speakeasy
01:01 - Simon’s background: Consulting to Silicon Valley
03:26 - From VMware to founding Speakeasy
05:57 - The Silicon Valley co-founder story
07:32 - The original vision for Speakeasy
08:56 - Why APIs are still painful in 2025
10:24 - The real meaning behind the name "Speakeasy"
11:16 - What Speakeasy actually does
12:38 - SDKs to Documentation
14:31 - Helping both internal & external devs
15:17 - What *is* an API, really?
16:26 - Real-world API examples from Flexport
18:39 - Why SDKs remove roadblocks
20:08 - Saving time, saving money, driving revenue
21:45 - Lessons from Stripe’s API experience
23:54 - Does Speakeasy use AI?
25:10 - Where AI fits (and doesn’t) in their platform
27:08 - How SDK generation works in practice
28:16 - MCPs and agent readiness explained
29:38 - Booking a trip: the case for AI + APIs
30:40 - How Speakeasy builds MCP support
32:01 - From RAG to agents: the protocol evolution
33:35 - Trust, security, and the future of agents
35:26 - The future of MCP: potential & pitfalls
36:54 - Building secure infrastructure around MCP
38:04 - Who Speakeasy is built for
39:02 - The next 6 months for Speakeasy
Founded in 2022, Speakeasy helps developers streamline API integration by automating SDKs, Terraform providers, docs, and MCP servers from OpenAPI specs. Headquartered in San Francisco and London, it’s built for a world where APIs and AI agents need to work seamlessly together.
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EPISODE LINKS
Speakeasy Web: https://www.speakeasyapi.dev
Simon Yu on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonhmyu
Speakeasy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/speakeasy-api
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