Learn in the textbookMechanisms for Commercialization Support and Venture Funding
DefinitionThe API economy (APIエコノミー) is the economic sphere that grows when companies publish their functions or data as APIs (connection points other programs can call) and other companies combine them to build new services.
ExplanationInstead of developing every function in-house, a company can bring in outside functions and launch a new service quickly. Disclosing how to connect to one's own systems so that other companies can use them is called an open API (オープンAPI), one of the ways the API economy expands.
AnalogyJust as appliances built for a standard wall socket work in any home, publishing a fixed connection point lets many companies plug in their products and services, widening what they can do.
Memory hookAn economy is a place where many participants trade with one another. Read the term as a marketplace where companies trade through APIs.