Netflix, the world's most popular streaming service, transitioned from a physical DVD business to the cloud and developed an API platform that powered its shift. The company went through four generations of APIs before transitioning to GraphQL Federation, a federated supergraph architecture that promoted collaboration, managed tech debt, and broke down organizational barriers. Netflix learned valuable lessons during this journey, including detangling the monolith, investing in schema developer experience, and managing tech debt and organizational barriers. By adopting GraphQL Federation, Netflix unlocked API success and is now focusing on building an open culture to remain agile in a rapidly changing environment.