Stainless assists in developing SDKs for OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta.

11.12.2024

Software developers often rely on software development kits (SDKs) to create applications using various products. These kits simplify the development process by providing pre-built tools and libraries. However, many tech vendors only offer APIs, which are sets of protocols that allow different software components to communicate but require developers to build everything from scratch. Stainless, a company founded by Alex Rattray, seeks to address this issue by using AI to automatically generate SDKs from APIs.

Stainless utilizes a compiler to convert API specifications into SDKs for various programming languages such as Python, TypeScript, Kotlin, and Go. This approach enables developers to quickly integrate APIs without manually digging through documentation. As APIs evolve over time, Stainless ensures that SDKs stay up-to-date with features like versioning and changelogs, reducing the need for developers to constantly make adjustments.

Unlike traditional vendors that rely on in-house developers to manually create SDKs for each language, Stainless leverages AI to generate an initial configuration. Teams can then customize this configuration to better fit their specific needs. This helps avoid the problem of outdated or inconsistent libraries and leads to faster integration and updates. Rattray believes that as AI technology continues to evolve, APIs will become a central interface for all users, not just power users, making high-quality SDKs even more important.

Stainless isn’t the only company offering API-to-SDK generation, but its approach stands out due to the quality of its output. While other tools like OpenAPI Generator exist, many users report that these solutions often produce code that requires extensive modification. Stainless, on the other hand, provides polished SDKs that meet high standards, attracting major companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta.

Today, Stainless has hundreds of paying customers, and its SDKs are being downloaded millions of times each week. The company offers a free tier for publishing a single SDK, while larger companies pay for premium services that support multiple languages and advanced AI features. With its recent $25 million Series A funding round, Stainless is well-positioned to expand its offerings and continue to grow, aiming to become the go-to platform for all API-related development needs.