The GGV Capital API-First Index
At GGV Capital, we are focused on finding the most promising developer-first software companies commercializing APIs, having already backed Agora, Authing, Pinwheel, Mindee and Stream. We are going all-in on API companies because they will fundamentally simplify software development. APIs will allow developers to offload lower-value and time-consuming components of application development so they can focus on higher-value work. For example, instead of a company asking its developers to spend months writing code to accept payments for its software, they can get up and running quickly with Stripe. For authentication, they can use Auth0. For chat, they can use Stream.
We expect the use of APIs to continue growing exponentially in the next few years, and many promising companies are building with an API-first approach, including Algoia for search, Mux for video, and Commerce Layer for e-commerce. The public markets are also taking notice. Twilio and Agora are now publicly traded. Okta acquired Auth0 for $6.5B. SoFi acquired Galileo for $1.2B. We expect this trend to continue.
2023 Q2 Update Highlights
1) Investment activity continues at a slower pace in Q2
2) Cohere raised one of the largest funding rounds of Q2 at $270M
3) Two additions to the API-First Index: Clerk & LibLab
2023 Q1 Update Highlights
1) Slower investment activity continues in Q1 2023
2) Stripe raised one of the largest funding rounds of 2023 at $6.5B
3) Two additions to the API-First Index: Finch & Synctera
In 2022, we tracked VC deal activity for 120+ API-first companies across categories. Find out what we learned:
2022 Year in Review Report.
GGV Capital is tracking 150+ API-first companies. We have now expanded the API-First Index to include the 60+ private companies that have raised $50M+ in funding. With this Index, we are focusing on API-first companies and have not included the broader and flourishing API economy (but are also very excited about this, having backed Kong and Tray.io!). If you are building API-first, we would love to meet you! Please contact us at apifirstindex@ggvc.com to be included in our list.