TL;DR
Rumors of WunderGraph’s “departure” from federation have been greatly exaggerated. In Episode 30, Stefan and Jens address the speculation directly and reaffirm their commitment to federation, pointing to ongoing innovation in Cosmo as proof that progress is accelerating, not slowing down.
Every time you grow, somebody somewhere is going to say you’ve changed direction. We didn’t — the market did.
The Rumor Mill
The episode opened with Stefan acknowledging chatter in the GraphQL community following GraphQL Conf. Competitors had claimed that WunderGraph was moving away from federation — a claim he called “ridiculous.” He explained how it happens: a small open-source project gains momentum, starts winning customers, and suddenly becomes a perceived threat.
People treat you like a toy until it grows — then you’re a threat.
Stefan described how these rumors often spread when incumbents feel pressure, but said transparency and consistency would always win out.
Setting the record straight
Jens didn’t mince words. “Obviously not,” he said when asked if WunderGraph was moving away from federation. He explained that no company in the space is publishing more original work or technical insight on federation — over 100 blog posts, most authored by him, focused purely on GraphQL and federation.
We’re the biggest innovators in the space. There’s nobody posting more original research, more federation content than us.
He went on to describe how WunderGraph’s collaboration with eBay — both a major user and an investor — reflects the company’s deep technical leadership in the field.
Beyond GraphQL: expanding the definition of federation
Both hosts agreed that what’s changing isn’t their commitment, but the scope. Federation at WunderGraph is no longer limited to GraphQL schemas.
We’re not betting on GraphQL federation, we’re betting on federation as an idea. It goes beyond GraphQL — it’s about how you connect systems and teams.
As Jens put it, the company’s bet isn’t on GraphQL alone, but on federation as an architectural principle. It’s about connecting systems cleanly, securely, and predictably across organizational boundaries.
Healthy competition, open innovation
Stefan talked about how competition in the federation ecosystem should feel more like inspiration than rivalry. When someone else makes progress, it validates the direction of the technology as a whole.
If somebody builds something cool, great — that pushes us to build better. That’s how open source should work.
Rather than responding defensively to criticism, Stefan and Jens said they prefer to keep building. They will continue to publish open-source work, write transparently about Cosmo’s internals, and collaborate with enterprises to solve real federation problems at scale.
The bigger picture
What this episode made clear is that WunderGraph isn’t stepping back from federation, but redefining what federation can be.
GraphQL was the foundation. But now, WunderGraph sees federation as a broader architectural model that connects every part of modern systems, not just APIs.
Federation is the thread that ties everything together — APIs, events, AI, all of it.
This episode was directed by Jacob Javor. Transcript lightly edited for clarity and flow.
