RapidAPI News
22 articles
Nokia acquires former unicorn Rapid to boost API-driven 5G monetization | CTech
Nokia has acquired the technology assets and R&D team of Israeli-founded startup Rapid, including its API hub, to enhance its network API product development and go-to-market efforts. This acquisition aims to expand Nokias network API ecosystem, leveraging 5G and 4G capabilities to enable operators to monetize network assets more effectively. Rapid, valued at $1 billion in March 2022, faced monetization challenges leading to significant restructuring, including the ousting of founder Iddo Gino and layoffs affecting 115 employees. The integration of Rapids API technology with Nokias platform will help operators manage API usage, streamline lifecycle management, and collaborate with Rapids developer community. This move is seen as a strategic step for Nokia to capitalize on the growing demand for network APIs.
Acquisition
Mini-apps, flagship stores, Rapid API: Travel tech brands build windmills for the future - WiT
Travel tech leaders from Wego, Expedia, and Alibaba Fliggy discussed their product innovations during the Bridge Series – Product & Tech panel at Phocuswright Europe. Wego has been working on an A/B testing framework and a mini-app framework. Alibaba Fliggy has developed a flagship store for airlines and an All You Can Fly pass for domestic flights. Expedia Group has been focusing on B2B tech and has developed new features for its Travel Agent Affiliate Program. All three companies are also focusing on AI technology, with Expedia and Alibaba Fliggy using ChatGPT for various functions.
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RapidAPI headcount down 82% from fresh layoffs less than two weeks after cutting 50% of staff
Rapid, previously known as RapidAPI, has laid off 70 employees, following a 50% staff reduction two weeks prior. This leaves the company with 42 employees, down from 230 in April, a drop of 82%. The layoffs affected all of Rapids remaining employees in Europe and some in the U.S. The company, valued at $1 billion last year, raised $150 million in a Series D round in March 2022. CEO Marc Friend recently took over from founder Iddo Gino, who is now a technical advisor. A source suggests that Gino was removed by the board and that the company may be sold for a price well below its previous valuation.
LayoffsManagement Changes
API unicorn Rapid laying off half of its workforce | CTech
API company Rapid has laid off 115 employees, which is half of its workforce. This follows the appointment of new CEO Marc Friend, who replaced founder Iddo Gino. Despite the companys denial of impending layoffs following the CEO change, the cuts were implemented shortly after. Gino, who founded the company at 17 and led it to unicorn status with a $1 billion valuation, will remain as a technological consultant. Rapid is a leading API Hub provider with over 4 million active developers.
LayoffsManagement Changes
Prodigy Iddo Gino out as CEO of unicorn Rapid | CTech
Rapid, a leading API Hub provider, has announced that its founder, Iddo Gino, will no longer serve as the companys CEO. Gino, who founded the company eight years ago, will be replaced by CFO Marc Friend. Gino will remain involved with the company as a technological consultant. The company has denied that a round of layoffs will follow the new CEOs entry, but it has stopped hiring new employees until the new CEO formulates his plan for the company. Rapid has a developer community of more than 4 million active developers and achieved unicorn status after raising $150 million in Series D funding at a $1 billion valuation last year.
Management ChangesInvestment
Rapid and IATA Announce the Open API Hub To Boost Innovation Across the Airline Industry
RapidAPI Adds Tool to Make Building APIs Simpler
RapidAPI has introduced a free RapidAPI Studio offering to its portfolio to simplify the process of building, managing, and monetizing APIs for developers. The new tool, currently in beta, can be accessed via a browser, as a desktop application, a macOS-native application, or as an extension to the VS Code tools provided by Microsoft. The company aims to streamline the process of moving between design and development, testing, and management. The tool also facilitates collaborative work on API projects. The launch comes as the number of APIs, both internal and external, that organizations are building and exposing has increased exponentially.
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חברת RapidAPI מכפילה את הפעילות בישראל - וואלה! כסף
RapidAPI, a company operating from Tel Aviv and San Francisco, recently completed an additional fundraising round of $150 million at a unicorn valuation. The company plans to double its operations and the number of employees in Israel. RapidAPI is the worlds largest API Hub, enabling millions of developers and businesses to find, connect, and manage thousands of API tools. The company is recruiting dozens of employees for technology positions for its research and development center in Israel. So far, the company has raised $272.5 million at a unicorn valuation (one billion dollars) and employs over 150 employees in Israel, the US, and Europe.
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API platform RapidAPI raises $150m at $1b valuation
Israeli API platform RapidAPI has raised $150 million in a Series D financing round, bringing the companys valuation to $1 billion. The round was led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, with participation from Citi Ventures, Qumra, and existing investors including Andreessen Horowitz, M12, Viola Growth, Green Bay, and Grove Ventures. The funds will be used to scale its API Hub and expand its customer base by enhancing key enterprise capabilities. The company has seen significant adoption by Global 2000 enterprises.
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RapidAPI raises $60 million to expand leading API marketplace
RapidAPI, an Israeli company that has developed the worlds largest API marketplace, has raised $60 million in a Series C funding round. The round was led by Green Bay Ventures and included new investor Stripes, along with existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, DNS Capital, M12, Viola Growth, and Grove Ventures. The funds will be used to support the influx of new developers to the platform, the onboarding of leading API providers to the public marketplace, and the expansion of the API platform. RapidAPI plans to double its workforce from 100 to 200 people.
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RapidAPI acquires Paw to help developers build, test, and manage APIs
RapidAPI, an online marketplace for application programming interfaces (APIs), has acquired Estonian startup Paw, a Mac app for designing and testing web APIs. The acquisition will help RapidAPI extend its reach into the API sphere, covering the entire API development lifecycle. Paw is expanding its API client support to include Windows, Linux, and the web, enabling developers to collaborate across platforms. RapidAPI will offer Paw as part of a marketplace subscription or as an add-on to its enterprise hub. The deal is part of a broader trend of consolidation in the API market.
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RapidAPI raises $25M more to expand its API marketplace
API marketplace RapidAPI has raised an additional $25 million in a second closing of its Series B round, bringing the total for the round to $50 million and $62.5 million overall. The funding was provided by existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, DNS Capital, Green Bay Ventures, M12, and Grove. The company, which tracks, integrates, and uses APIs across its marketplace, has seen significant growth, with 300,000 new developers added since January and the number of APIs doubling in the last year to 20,000. RapidAPIs previous valuation was $80 million, with the new funding likely pushing it above $105 million.
Investment
RapidAPI Partners With Twilio to Bring Its APIs to Over 1M Developers on the RapidAPI Marketplace
Israeli startup RapidAPI raises $25m
RapidAPI, an Israeli API marketplace company, has raised $25 million in a Series B funding round led by M12, Microsoft’s Venture Fund, with participation from DNS Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and Green Bay Capital. This brings the companys total funding to $37.5 million. RapidAPI helps developers find and connect to thousands of publicly available APIs. Since its Series A funding in March 2018, the company has expanded its team to 50 people, grown the number of APIs in its public marketplace to 10,000, and doubled the number of developers using its platform.
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This CEO explains how he turned a tool he made for newbie programmers into a product used by over a million developers and backed by Microsoft's VC fund and Andreessen Horowitz
RapidAPI, a startup that provides tools to help developers manage their API usage, has raised $25 million in a series B funding round. The round was led by Microsofts venture fund M12, and also saw participation from DNS Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and Green Bay Capital. The funding will be used to develop the platform and reach more developers. The company, which started as a hackathon tool, has partnered with large companies like Microsoft and Google, and is used by over a million developers.
InvestmentPartners
Kairos Places Facial Recognition Software on RapidAPI Marketplace - FindBiometrics
Facial recognition specialist Kairos is looking to expand its customer base through a renewed partnership with RapidAPI. Kairos deep learning API platform will be listed on the RapidAPI marketplace, making it available to over 500,000 developers. The company is expecting significant interest due to the rising demand for facial recognition technology. The partnership announcement indicates that Kairos is moving past its legal battle with its founder and former CEO, Brian Brackeen, who was ousted by the board in 2018.
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Case Study: How Rakuten RapidAPI Is Globalizing The API Marketplace Nordic APIs
Rakuten, Japan’s largest e-commerce company, has partnered with RapidAPI to create a localized instance of the RapidAPI catalog for a Japanese audience. The goal is to connect the world’s top APIs with Japanese businesses, and then deliver similar experiences to other regions in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. The partnership offers a unique window for US, European, and other SaaS services in predominantly English-speaking regions to fine tune their localization efforts to a wider, Asian marketplace. The partnership also highlights the role of API marketplaces in the global API economy.
Partners
Rakuten RapidAPI launches with goal of empowering developers
RapidAPI has announced a partnership with Rakuten to launch Rakuten RapidAPI, an API marketplace for developers in Japan and Asia. The partnership aims to bring RapidAPIs catalogue of over 8,000 APIs to developers in the region. The companys goal is to make software development faster, cheaper and more accessible by providing APIs as a service to developers. RapidAPI has already empowered over 500,000 developers and is now looking to expand its impact on a global scale. The partnership with Rakuten will help RapidAPI navigate cultural differences, language barriers and lack of market familiarity.
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RapidAPI, an API marketplace that processes 400B API calls each month, raises $9M led by A16Z
RapidAPI, a start-up that helps app developers find, use, pay for and track calls on APIs, has raised $9m in a series A funding round. The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from SV Angel, Green Bay Capital and Tony Jamous, co-founder and CEO of Nexmo. RapidAPI will use the funding to expand its business to cover more APIs and developers. The company currently offers a directory of 8,000 APIs, up from 200 18 months ago, and works with around half a million developers, up from 30,000 18 months ago.
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Mashape and RapidAPI Join Forces RapidAPI
RapidAPI and Mashapes API marketplace have merged to form the worlds largest API hub, offering developers access to over 7,500 APIs in one location. The merger brings RapidAPI closer to its goal of consolidating all of the worlds APIs under one roof. The combined entity now has 370,000 developers making 300 billion API calls a month. Users can now log into both platforms using either a RapidAPI or Mashape account, and can view their analytics and projects through different interfaces.
PartnersAcquisition
API marketplace RapidAPI raises $3.5 million, led by Andreessen Horowitz
San Francisco-based start-up RapidAPI has raised $3.5m in seed funding in a round led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from SV Angel. The company, which was part of 500 Startups’ 16th batch, has developed a marketplace for developers to discover, test and use publicly available application programming interfaces (APIs). The service supports more than 100 APIs and has a backlog of 300 that users have requested. Around 20,000 developers are using the free version of the service, and a few companies are paying for an enterprise tier.
Investment
How Rapid API Got Funded By One Of Israel's Top Angels Startup Grind
Rapid API, a startup run by 17-year-old CEO Iddo Gino, was the winner at a Startup Grind event in Tel Aviv. The company, which started as a mobile wallet for teenagers, developed an internal system to save time when uploading new code to the server. This system was shared with other entrepreneurs, leading to the realization that it could be a promising product. After further development and presentation at the Mixi convention, investor Dov Moran contacted Iddo and subsequently provided seed investment. The company has since launched their beta, with more than 100 active users.
Investment