Zdeněk “Z” Němec

About

I build interface and execution architecture for the next generation of software: from machine-readable API contracts, through autonomous integration, to AI-consumable capability systems and agent-native execution.

Professional biography

Zdeněk Němec is a software architect, founder, and researcher focused on the evolution of software interfaces toward autonomous, AI-native, and agent-native systems, with a current focus on agentic payments and commerce infrastructure.

He is Founder and CTO of Superface.ai, where he works on infrastructure enabling autonomous agents to discover, integrate, and execute capabilities across software systems.

Previously, he was Director of DSL Development at Apiary and creator of API Blueprint, one of the first widely adopted machine-readable API description languages. He later founded Good API, advising global companies on API architecture and platform design.

His work spans multiple architectural transitions, including:

• agentic payments and commerce
• agent-native execution infrastructure
• AI-consumable capability systems
• integration abstraction layers
• autonomous APIs
• APIs as products
• contract-driven API development

He has spoken at international conferences including O’Reilly Software Architecture Conference, Nordic APIs, APIdays, GitHub Satellite, and AI The Docs.

Links: LinkedIn · Speaker Deck · X

Career timeline

Selected keynotes & major talks

Agent-native systems, agentic commerce & AI-native architecture

Capability abstraction & AI-consumable APIs

Autonomous integration & integration abstraction

Research focus

2022-present  -> AI-native / Agent-native -> Agentic payments & commerce
2021-2023     -> Capability abstraction   -> AI-consumable APIs
2020-2021     -> Integration mesh         -> Autonomous integration runtime
2018-2019     -> Autonomous APIs          -> Self-integrating systems
2018          -> REST critique            -> Constraint-driven API styles
2016-2017     -> API product design       -> Interface-led architecture
2012-2016     -> API description          -> Machine-readable contracts

Němec moved progressively toward a deeper architectural shift: REST → API contracts → autonomous integration → capability abstraction → AI agents. He anticipated agent-native computing before LLMs were widely adopted.

1. 2022-present - AI-native / Agent-native: agentic payments and commerce (Arc Pay), agentic SDKs, and execution architectures for AI agents.
2. 2021-2023 - Capability abstraction & AI: AI-consumable APIs, autonomous-agent integration patterns, and capability-layer design.
3. 2020-2021 - Integration mesh: autonomous integration runtime and abstraction of provider-level complexity.
4. 2018-2019 - Autonomous APIs: self-integrating interfaces and navigation of complex API landscapes.
5. 2018 - REST & GraphQL critique & abstraction: constraint-driven analysis of API styles and abstraction boundaries.
6. 2016-2017 - API product design: APIs as products, interface-led system architecture, and consumer-oriented design.
7. 2012-2016 - API description: machine-readable contracts, API description languages, and design-first workflows.

Complete Chronological Talks Index

The 10 Most Important Breakthrough Talks

Written Mentions

• Foreword author for the book "Enterprise API Management" by Luis Augusto Weir
• Featured speaker profile on The Gazebo (Eventible)
• Speaker profile at API Conference
• Crunchbase profile

Conference Speaker Profiles

Podcasts & Interviews