Application Programming Interface(API)
A defined way for software systems to communicate with each other.
An API is a defined interface that lets software systems communicate. APIs are the connective tissue of modern software — Stripe APIs let any app accept payments; OpenAI APIs let any app use GPT models; Google Maps APIs let any app display maps.
API-first companies build their products as APIs first, then layer UI on top. This model has produced some of the most valuable SaaS companies of the last decade (Twilio, Stripe, Algolia, Plaid).
A startup builds a customer support app. Instead of building payment processing from scratch, they integrate the Stripe API. Stripe handles payments; the startup focuses on its core support functionality.
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