Authzed Raises $3.9M Seed Funding - Permissions API

Authzed Secures $3.9 Million Seed Funding to Simplify Application Permissions

Authzed, a nascent startup focused on streamlining the development of permission systems for applications, has announced the successful completion of a $3.9 million seed funding round. Work-Bench spearheaded the investment, with additional participation from Y Combinator and Amplify Partners.

A Permissions API for Developers

According to CEO and co-founder Jake Moshenko, the core offering is an API meticulously crafted to expedite the integration of permissions into applications. “Authzed functions as a platform for storing, calculating, and validating application permissions,” Moshenko explained. “Drawing from our collective experience at Google, Red Hat, and Amazon, we believe this represents the optimal approach to managing application permissions.”

The service operates by facilitating the definition of user groups. Permissions regarding data visibility and function access are then determined based on individual group memberships. While capable of leveraging existing systems like Active Directory or LDAP for group definitions, it aims to simplify the overall permissions implementation process.

Unifying Permissions and Group Membership

“Active Directory, on its own, doesn’t provide a complete solution to the problem,” Moshenko stated. “The association between group membership and the permissions it grants still requires manual configuration.” He continued, “Our system allows for a unified approach to defining both permissions and group members.”

Current Status and Future Development

The foundational framework for the service has been established. However, integrations with Active Directory and other directory services are planned for future development. Currently, Authzed is collaborating with design partners to refine the product. Today marks the public availability of the service to all developers.

Initially, access will be provided without charge. However, the company anticipates introducing tiered pricing structures over time. Moshenko draws a parallel to API-focused companies like Twilio (communications) and Stripe (payments), predicting that costs will be minimal for new applications and scale with usage and permission check frequency.

Team and Future Plans

The company currently consists of the three co-founders and one additional employee. The seed funding will be allocated towards expanding the engineering team and fostering adoption within the developer community. The rate of new hires will be directly correlated with the product’s market performance.

Founders' Proven Track Record

Prior to Authzed, the founders established Quay, a private registry for Docker containers. Quay was acquired by CoreOS in 2014. Subsequently, Red Hat acquired CoreOS in January 2018 for $250 million, and IBM later purchased Red Hat for $34 billion later that same year.