Mar 10, 2018 · 17m · a16z
The World Through an API
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
In this a16z Summit presentation, Andreessen Horowitz General Partner Martin Casado explains how the disaggregation of software into Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) is transforming computing, lowering development barriers, and creating a multi-trillion-dollar economic opportunity.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. How this is scored →
The host as informed peer 0.0 Guest teaching 2.3 Guest disagreement 0.0 The host pushing back 0.0
speaking balance: gold is the host, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 5:40 Rejecting the premise of technical gatekeeping in game development
Casado mildly pushes back against traditional software practices by pointing out that storytellers and artists, not low-level computer engineers, should be the ones writing video games.
Hardest push from the host ▶ 0:01 No host pushback presentBecause this episode consists entirely of a solo presentation monologue by Martin Casado, the host provided no pushback or framing challenges.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 10:10 Deep dive into hyperparameter tuning and Bayesian optimizationCasado delivers an educational technical breakdown explaining how Bayesian optimization and tuning knobs optimize deep neural network training.
The host holds their own ▶ 0:01 No host hit-back presentSince the recording is a solo speaker monologue, the host never interjected to demonstrate counter-expertise or challenge the speaker.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | The host as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | The host pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Historical Industrial Disaggregation: Automotive and Computing Eras | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Martin Casado delivers an uninterrupted historical overview comparing the disaggregation of the automotive supply chain at Ford to computing expansions from mainframes to PCs. The host is non-participatory during this monologue segment. All host-side dynamics remain zero. | |
| Application Disaggregation and Defining the API | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Casado defines APIs as program-to-program interfaces rather than human user interfaces, using examples like Twilio and Stripe. The host does not interject or ask questions during this presentation segment. | |
| Developer Accessibility and the Proliferation of APIs | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | The guest explains how APIs democratize software creation for non-technical domain experts, contrasting it with his experience writing video games in college. Aside from a minor audience or producer utterance, the host is silent. | |
| The Investor Framework: Three API Opportunities | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Casado lays out a three-part investment framework for API opportunities, detailing SigOpt's role in hyperparameter tuning for neural networks. The host offers no pushback or expertise as the segment is entirely a monologue. | |
| Investment Category 2: Retooling Infrastructure and Kong Gateway | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Casado presents the second investment category, focusing on retooling infrastructure for APIs using Kong Gateway. The host remains silent throughout the explanation. | |
| Investment Category 3: Aggregation Layers and RapidAPI | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Casado concludes his presentation with API aggregation layers like RapidAPI and takeaways for tech operators. The host provides no concluding remarks or pushback in the audio track. |
Statements from this episode (14)
Casado: Half of Silicon Valley billboards feature API-first companies
“Now if you go up and you look at the billboards about half the time, you'll see that there are companies whose primary interface is an API. So for example, you have Twilio, you have Stripe, you have Braintree, you have PubNub, like all of these are billboards …”
Casado: APIs represent the next major expanse in computing
“We actually think that APIs are the next big expanse in computing.”
Casado: As markets grow, the unit needed for a viable company shrinks
“As markets grow, The unit for which you can create a viable company shrinks, right?”
Casado: Applications are disaggregating into standalone APIs
“What we're seeing is we're seeing a next level of expansion where the app itself is being disaggregated into a set of APIs.”
Casado: The average downloaded mobile app uses 17 third-party APIs
“This trend is so proliferate that we find on average a mobile app, if you download it, will use something like 17 third-party APIs”
Casado: Domain experts can build software without low-level engineering knowledge
“So if you compare that with today, today there's an API for everything. I mean, here's an example of a few thousand APIs everywhere from getting a random quote from Chuck Norris to identifying images in a picture to searching your email inbox. Right. And so wh…”
Casado: Industry disaggregation typically expands total market size by 10x
“Every time you have a disaggregation, the market tends to grow by, say, a factor of 10.”
Casado: APIs will become the primary interface for consuming software
“So we believe APIs are going to be the new way of consuming computer science, right? It used to be an application on, say your desktop, and then perhaps it was a webpage or a mobile app. Next, we think it's going to be an API.”
Casado: API abstraction accelerates launch speeds for infrastructure startups
“And so for me as an infrastructure investor, this means you're going to have more infrastructure companies that can get off the ground quicker because they don't have to appeal directly to a human user or consumer.”
Casado: Software disaggregation forces infrastructure retooling as abstractions change
“Every time you have these disaggregations, you have to retool the infrastructure because the abstractions change.”
Casado: Software disaggregation creates opportunities for new aggregation layers
“The final one is whenever you have new disaggregations, you have on top of them, the emergence of new aggregation layers, like marketplaces that help you kind of sift through the chaos.”
Casado: Complex software functions used broadly make strong standalone API companies
“If there's a function that's sufficiently complex that's being used by a large enough number of applications, it's a good candidate to become an API company.”