The Birth of Anki

Anki originated from a collaborative idea between James and Andreas, who wanted to create a solution for API key management while working at different companies. Their initial discussion about co-marketing quickly evolved into a project, leading them to realize a significant opportunity in simplifying API key management. The duo began building what would become Anki, focusing initially on basic features like issuing API keys, rate limiting, and expiration dates. As they prepared to launch, they unexpectedly garnered considerable community interest, motivating them to transition from a side project to a company.