Our lives are pretty much designed to go through a massive overhaul every once in a while. With the process being a rather recurring one, things do get somewhat tedious at times, except it also allows us to pursue our ultimate goal of constant progression. You see, as the smartest species this world has ever seen, the last thing we want to do is waste all that potential, so we make sure to be on the move under every possible situation. Nevertheless, while we are it, we must acknowledge how the whole thing is actually easier said than done. In fact, when you target consistent step-ups, you automatically set yourself up for some failed ideas here and there. This sounds like the truth that you just have to accept, but surprisingly enough; humans will take up a slightly different approach. Instead of humming along the established structure, they will give their attempts the best possible chance at succeeding, and they’ll do it through technology. In a way, technology appeared on the scene as an extension to our already unbelievable cognitive abilities. Hence, like anyone would expect, it went to make a sizeable mark on the world’s fabric. This mark has only gotten bigger with time. However, despite having achieved so much, the creation and its legacy are still firmly placed on an upwards trajectory, and it was proven once again during RapidAPI’s recent funding.
RapidAPI, a startup known for helping businesses find and integrate third-party APIs has successfully secured a sum worth $150 million in Series D financing. Led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2, the round saw further participation coming from Qumra, Andreessen Horowitz, M12 (Microsoft’s Venture Fund), Viola Growth, Green Bay and Grove Ventures. According to certain reports, the new cash injection takes RapidAPI’s valuation beyond a whopping $1 billion, which is way more than what the company was valued at following its Series C round. The trust around APIs has grown significantly in the recent past. Built on simplistic principles, APIs have been critical for many businesses to make a required foray into the tech realm. RapidAPI hopes to keep this momentum alive; therefore the company is planning to dedicate the newly-raised money towards the enhancement of overall API functionality.
“Demand for digital solutions and software innovation is increasing rapidly, and without enough developers, the world needs APIs to continue building software,” said Nagraj Kashyap, managing partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers. “We believe that RapidAPI plays a critical role in supporting the API economy and has demonstrated impressive growth and execution to accelerate developer adoption and supply of APIs.”
The funding comes at an interesting stage in RapidAPI’s growth. Since last year, the company has managed to bring in over 1 million new customers, taking the size of its total user base to an impressive 4 million. Nevertheless, assuming the projections about API’s future are correct, we can expect this number to make a big leap soon.