Anthropic Acquires Stainless, a Asset Taken from OpenAI and Google

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Key Takeaways

1Anthropic has acquired Stainless, used by OpenAI, Google, and Cloudflare, for over $300 million.

2The deal ends Stainless's hosted products, but current customers retain their rights to the SDKs.

3Stainless's SDK tools, which update automatically, will now only be available to Anthropic.

💡Why it matters — This strategic acquisition strengthens Anthropic by limiting its competitors' access to crucial tools for AI development.

Anthropic Acquires Stainless, a Key Player in Development

Anthropic recently announced the acquisition of Stainless, a startup whose development tools are widely used by AI leaders such as OpenAI, Google, and Cloudflare. Founded by Alex Rattray, a former engineer at Stripe, Stainless has carved out a significant niche in the industry with its innovative solutions. The New York-based startup was established in 2022 and is backed by renowned investors like Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz.

Although the financial details of the deal have not been officially disclosed, The Information reported that the transaction could exceed $300 million. This acquisition marks a strategic turning point for Anthropic, effectively removing a key infrastructure provider from the hands of its competitors.

End of Stainless's Hosted Products

With this acquisition, Anthropic has decided to discontinue all hosted products from Stainless, including its SDK generator. However, current Stainless customers will retain ownership of the SDKs they have generated and will be able to modify and extend them as they wish.

An Automated and Valuable Technology

Stainless has distinguished itself through its ability to automate the creation and maintenance of software development kits (SDKs). Its platform allows for the transformation of API specifications into ready-to-use SDKs in various programming languages, such as Python, TypeScript, Kotlin, Go, and Java. One of Stainless's major strengths is its ability to automatically update SDKs when APIs change, thereby eliminating the need for tedious manual maintenance.

Stainless's technology is particularly valuable for companies like Replicate and Runway, in addition to OpenAI, Google, and Cloudflare, which are developing AI agents capable of connecting to external software and performing tasks on behalf of users.

A Tool Now Exclusive to Anthropic

Stainless's SDK tools, which have powered the generation of every official SDK from Anthropic since the inception of its API, will now only be available to Anthropic. This exclusivity deprives competitors like OpenAI, Google, and Cloudflare of a valuable tool for developing AI agents.

A Shared Vision Between Rattray and Anthropic

Alex Rattray expressed his enthusiasm for the acquisition, stating, “Anthropic was one of the first teams to bet on this with us.” He added, “We have seen what developers have built on Claude over the past few years, which made the decision to bring our teams together easy.” This collaboration will allow the Stainless team to continue innovating on a leading platform.