Below is an excerpt from the Data2.0 newsletter article called 4 Trends in 2013 Data Innovation featuring DeveloperWeek winner Callinize
3. More startups will essentially be “Data Startups”Callinize, the winner of our DeveloperWeek 2013 hackathon last February 1-3, is actually a mashup of 4-6 different data sources like Mashape, Salesforce, and RapLeaf. The end user might not know it, but the power of Callinize to grab intelligence on whoever is calling you (before you answer the phone) is based on the fact that Callinize is really a mashup of API’s. It’s a data startup.Across the landscape of all web and mobile startups, the new competitive edge is the ability to leverage more 3rd party API’s. A few companies that either provide API’s or consume multiple API’s have recently received funding in the past 12 months including Identified (+$21m), Stormpath ($9.7m), and Adaptly (+$10.5m) to name a few.More startups will be “data startups” (companies whose chief asset value is based on what they can do with API’s) because the API ecosystem is the new competitive edge. If you utilize 3rd party API’s (or provide 3rd party API’s) better than your competitors, you will win. And investors are recognizing that.