a16z Podcast: The API Economy — The Why, What, and How
with Cristina Cordova, Augusto Marietti, Laura Behrens Wu, and Sonal Chokshi
视频地址：https://a16z.com/2018/03/13/api-economy-why-what-how/
APIs (application programming interfaces), observe the guests in this episode of the a16z Podcast, can be described as everything from Lego building blocks to Tetris to front doors to even veins in the human body. Because the defining property of APIs is that they’re ways to send and receive information between different parts, that is, communicate between software applications (which often map onto different organizational functions/services in a company too). APIs therefore give companies access to data and competencies they wouldn’t otherwise have — or better yet, that they no longer need — by letting even non-tech and small companies combine these building blocks to get exactly what they want.
Which means companies today — including non-tech companies and small companies — can focus on their core competency instead, access bigger data, and get superpowers to scale and compete with the Amazons of the world. But what does all this mean for design — after all, APIs are interfaces between software, not people — and for other stakeholders (finance, ops, etc.) beyond developers? Who do you sell to? How are APIs changing not only the (inter)face of business today, but how entire companies are being formed from — or around — them? This conversation considers all this and more, featuring: Cristina Cordova, who leads partnerships for Stripe, which builds infrastructure for the movement of money including payments processing; Augusto Marietti, CEO and co-founder of Kong, which helps companies manage secure APIs and microservices; Laura Behrens Wu, CEO and co-founder of Shippo, which powers multi-carrier shipping for all kinds of commerce; in conversation with Sonal Chokshi.
API（应用程序编程接口），在这一集的a16z播客中观察客人，可以描述从乐高积木到俄罗斯方块到前门甚至是人体静脉的一切。因为API的定义属性是它们在不同部分之间发送和接收信息的方式，即软件应用程序之间的通信（通常也映射到公司中的不同组织功能/服务）。因此，API允许公司获得他们原本不具备的数据和能力 - 或者更好的是，他们不再需要 - 甚至允许非技术和小公司将这些构建块组合在一起以获得他们想要的东西。
这意味着今天的公司 - 包括非技术公司和小公司 - 可以专注于他们的核心竞争力，获取更大的数据，并让超级大国扩展并与世界亚马逊竞争。但这对设计意味着什么 - 毕竟，API是软件之间的接口，而不是人 - 以及开发人员以外的其他利益相关者（财务，运营等）？你卖给谁？API如何不仅改变了当今企业的（内部）面貌，而且整个公司是如何从 - 或围绕它们形成的？这个对话考虑了所有这些以及更多，特色：Cristina Cordova，他领导Stripe的合作伙伴关系，为货币流动构建基础设施，包括支付处理; Augusto Marietti，Kong的首席执行官兼联合创始人，帮助公司管理安全的API和微服务; Laura Behrens Wu，Shippo的首席执行官兼联合创始人，负责为各种商业提供多运输服务; 与Sonal Chokshi对话。
The World Through an API
视频地址：://a16z.com/2018/03/09/api-world-summit/
watch time: 18 minutes
As the API or “application programming interface” becomes the primary interface for business (in much the same way physical storefronts gave way to applications and websites), we’re seeing a new chapter in the story of software emerge. While it’s playing out against the backdrop of other trends (microservices, software-defined networking, developers as buyers, and connectivity as a utility), the big idea here is that traditional, large programs are being broken down into and being offered as — or with data exposed to — services. But more importantly, these pieces and services are being recombined by other companies to create something new… it’s combinatorial innovation in action.
In this talk (originally delivered at our most recent annual a16z Summit in November 2017), general partner Martin Casado describes the evolution of “the API economy” in the context of the history of computing; shares examples of companies whose entire business is based on or around APIs; considers implications for future infrastructure, IT business leaders, and others; and shares how APIs are already fueling the expansion of software eating the world.
随着API或“应用程序编程接口”成为业务的主要接口（与物理店面让位于应用程序和网站的方式大致相同），我们看到了软件故事的新篇章。虽然它正在与其他趋势（微服务，软件定义的网络，开发者作为买家，以及作为实用工具的连接）的背景下进行，但这里的一个重要想法是传统的大型程序被分解为和提供 - 或者数据暴露于 - 服务。但更重要的是，这些作品和服务正在被其他公司重新组合以创造新的东西......它是行动中的组合创新。
在本次演讲中（最初于2017年11月在我们最近的年度a16z峰会上发布），普通合伙人Martin Casado描述了计算历史背景下“API经济”的演变; 分享整个业务基于API或围绕API的公司示例; 考虑对未来基础设施，IT业务领导者和其他人的影响; 并分享API如何推动软件在全世界的扩张。
附：a16z简介
Andreessen Horowitz成立于2009年6月，是一家管理者27亿美元的风险投资（缩写是VC，Venture Capital）公司，关注在种子轮到成长期。公司名字来源于两个创始人的名字：Marc Andreessen 和 Ben Horowitz。Andreessen Horowitz公司名字中的第一个字母A与最后一个字母Z中间隔了16个字母，所以又称为“a16z”。
需要重点介绍的是Marc Andreessen，目前是16家公司的董事会成员，包含Facebook、惠普。细节可参考维基百科： https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-cn/马克·安德森
a16z从2013年开始就投资区块链行业了，包含：
2013年 - Ripple，Earn(原21.co，初期做过矿机)，coinbase
2014年 - Axoni (提供全栈区块链解决方案), Tradeblock
2015年 - OpenBazzar
2016年 - Mediachain，Polychain Capital
2017年 - Orchid (提供一种底层的区块链协议，通过开源打造出无法“被监视”的互联网)
2017年 - Basecoin，Filecoin
