API security startup Authlete raises $1.2m in seed funding

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Photo credit: Taro Tokyo.

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Japanese online security company Authlete today announced the closing of its US$1.2 million seed round after attracting funds from investors including 500 Startups. The capital raised will be used to accelerate Authlete’s business plans in Japan and beyond.

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Launched in September 2015 and working out of Tokyo fintech hub Finolab since last December, Authlete develops a security solution for application protocol interfaces (APIs). Authlete’s product is built on the OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect access delegation standards. These allow internet users to grant websites or applications access to their information without the need to reveal passwords.

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Authlete co-founder and representative director Takahiko Kawasaki said in a press release that the involvement of 500 Startups in the seed round represented a “solid endorsement” of the company’s solution. The company will use the funding to further improve its product and expand its business with a focus on the financial services sector, he added. Tech in Asia has reached out for additional comments. 

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“We see their potential to catalyze the API economy and help revolutionize a variety of different industries,” said James Riney, head of 500 Startups’ Japan fund. With developer APIs now a standard feature across a wide range of industries, including social media, ecommerce, financial services, government, healthcare, IoT, and logistics, there is plenty of demand for reliable security and authentication options.

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Quoting statistics from a Marketsandmarkets.com report, Authlete says that “APIs have now become a key must-have strategy component for enterprises,” with the global API management market size estimated to reach close to US$2.67 billion by 2021.

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Authlete’s solution is intended to bring more security to APIs without overburdening developers, with the company claiming that it allows its users to “implement OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect standards in a matter of days and not months.”