Topics
Latest
AI
Amazon
Image Credits:Luis Alvarez / Getty Images
Apps
Biotech & Health
Climate
Image Credits:Luis Alvarez / Getty Images
Cloud Computing
Department of Commerce
Crypto
endeavour
EVs
Fintech
fund-raise
Gadgets
Gaming
Government & Policy
computer hardware
layoff
Media & Entertainment
Meta
Microsoft
Privacy
Robotics
Security
societal
Space
inauguration
TikTok
expatriation
Venture
More from TechCrunch
Events
Startup Battlefield
StrictlyVC
newssheet
Podcasts
video
Partner Content
TechCrunch Brand Studio
Crunchboard
Contact Us
Besides a focus on productive AI , what do AI startups like OpenAI , Anthropic and Together AI share in common ? They useStainless , a platform created by ex - Stripe staffer Alex Rattray , to bring forth SDKs for their genus Apis .
Rattray , who studied economics at the University of Pennsylvania , has been building things for as long as he can recollect , from an hush-hush newspaper in high school to a bike - share computer programme in college . Rattray picked up programming on the side while at UPenn , which led to a job at Stripe as an railroad engineer on the developer weapons platform squad .
At Stripe , Rattray facilitate to revamp API documentation and launch the system that powers Stripe ’s API guest SDK . It ’s while play on those project Rattray note there was n’t an promiscuous way for companies , including Stripe , to build SDKs for their genus Apis at scale .
“ handwrite the SDKs could n’t scale , ” he tell TechCrunch . “ Today , every API clothes designer has to sink a million and one ‘ bikeshed ’ questions all over again , and painstakingly implement consistency around these decision across their API . ”
Now , you might be wondering , why would a company need an SDK if it offers an API ? genus Apis are but protocols , enabling software package constituent to communicate with each other and transfer data . SDKs , on the other hand , propose a solidification of software - craft tools that stop up into APIs . Without an SDK to accompany an API , API drug user are forced to read API medico and build everything themselves , which is n’t the upright experience .
Rattray ’s solvent is Stainless , which require in an API spec and generates SDKs in a range of computer programing languages let in Python , TypeScript , Kotlin , Go and Java . As APIs develop and change , Stainless ’ political program pushes those updates with options for versioning and publishing changelogs .
“ API ship’s company today have a squad of several citizenry building libraries in each unexampled speech to connect to their API , ” Rattray said . “ These depository library inevitably become discrepant , fall out of particular date and require unceasing changes from specialist engineers . Stainless fixing that problem by generating them via code . ”
Join us at TechCrunch Sessions: AI
Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI
Stainless is n’t the only API - to - SDK author out there . There’sLibLabandSpeakeasy , to name a couplet , plus longstanding assailable informant projects such as the OpenAPI Generator .
Stainless , however , hand over more “ finish ” than most others , Rattray read , thanks part to its habit of generative AI .
“ Stainless uses procreative AI to produce an initial ‘ Stainless config ’ for customers , which is then up to them to okay - strain to their API , ” he explain . “ This is particularly worthful for AI company , whose huge user bases includes many novice developer trying to integrate with complex features like natter cyclosis and tools . ”
Perhaps that ’s what draw in client like OpenAI , Anthropic and Together AI , along with Lithic , LangChain , Orb , Modern Treasury and Cloudflare . Stainless has “ wads ” of paying clients in its beta , Rattray said , and some of the SDKs it ’s generated , admit OpenAI ’s Python SDK , are getting millions of downloads per calendar week .
“ If your company wants to be a program , your API is the basic principle of that , ” he said . “ not bad SDKs for your API drive fast integration , broad feature acceptance , quicker acclivity and corporate trust in your engineering tone . ”
Most customers are paying for Stainless ’ go-ahead tier up , which comes with additional snowy - mitt services and AI - specific functionality . publish a single SDK with Stainless is free . But companies have to fork over between $ 250 per calendar month and $ 30,000 per year for multiple SDKs across multiple programing language .
Rattray bootstrapped Stainless “ with revenue from twenty-four hour period one , ” he said , adding that the company could be profitable as soon as this year ; annual recurring tax income is oscillate around $ 1 million . But Rattray opted instead to take on external investment to build unexampled product lines .
Stainless recently closed a $ 3.5 million seed rhythm with participation from Sequoia and The General Partnership .
“ Across the tech ecosystem , Stainless place upright out as a beacon that elevates the developer experience , rival the high monetary standard once limit by Stripe , ” said Anthony Kline , partner at The General Partnership . “ As genus Apis continue to be the pith ramp up block of mix services like LLMs into applications , Alex ’s first - handwriting experience pioneer Stripe ’s API codegen system uniquely positions him to craft Stainless into the quintessential program for seamless , high - quality API interactions . ”
Stainless has a 10 - person team found in New York . Rattray expects headcount to grow to 15 or 20 by the terminal of the year .
