Twilio

Twilio provides programming interfaces that let developers add communications to applications. Jeff Lawson, Evan Cooke and John Wolthuis founded it in San Francisco in 2008. The first product made it possible to place and receive phone calls with a few lines of web code.

It later added SMS, WhatsApp messaging, video, email and identity verification. Businesses use these to send appointment reminders, delivery alerts and login codes. Twilio charges based on usage, such as per message or per minute.

In 2019 the company bought SendGrid, a service for sending email. The Segment acquisition in 2020 added customer data tools. Flex is a configurable contact center product. Twilio went public in 2016. Regulations on text message registration in the United States have shaped how its customers must set up sending numbers. Khozema Shipchandler became chief executive in 2024 after Jeff Lawson stepped down. The company has also been through layoffs and reorganizations. Developers form a large part of its audience, and it hosts an annual event called SIGNAL.