8base

8base is a development platform that provides an instantly available, serverless backend-as-a-service for professional developers building full-stack JavaScript applications. The platform auto-generates and documents a GraphQL API from a user-defined data model and supplies core backend services including role-based access control, user management, authentication, file handling and single sign-on, plus managed relational database (MySQL) storage, cloud storage and serverless functions written in JavaScript or TypeScript. Workflow is organized around five steps: data modeling, data entry or CSV import via a data viewer, querying the auto-generated CRUD and subscription operations, no-code configuration of roles and permissions, and development of custom backend functions deployed through the 8base CLI as resolvers, triggers, webhooks or scheduled tasks.

The company positions its tooling across the software development lifecycle. Archie, described as an AI product architect, takes a text prompt and returns a blueprint of a concept covering functional and technical design elements, which can be expanded into full specifications and then used to generate an application backend including data model, test data, custom backend functions and GraphQL API. Frontends can be built with 8base App Builder's drag-and-drop tools as progressive web apps, or with external frameworks such as React, Angular, Vue, Next.js, Flutter, React Native, Swift and Android connected over GraphQL. 8base also offers integrations, including cross-connecting Salesforce data, through a component referred to as 8base Bolt.

Applications run on infrastructure built on Amazon Web Services in a DevOps-free model, offered as shared multi-tenant, dedicated instance or customer self-hosted AWS configurations, with SOC 2 and HIPAA compliance available as needed. The company emphasizes portability, citing use of standard technologies (JavaScript/TypeScript, MySQL, GraphQL) so that customer intellectual property and data can be moved to other platforms.

Founding story

Founder and CEO Albert Santalo started 8base in 2017 after a career as a developer, management consultant and SaaS entrepreneur, motivated by the observation that software projects were rarely easy, on budget or specification-compliant on the first attempt, and the belief that a modern cloud-based foundation could enable rapid application development. Santalo had previously built two venture-backed businesses and has been active in the Miami technology community since 1986; he described 8base as addressing local constraints such as a shortage of engineers, non-technical founders and limited capital.

Business model

8base sells access to a managed cloud development and hosting platform, with a free trial entry point, published pricing tiers and demo-led sales for larger deployments. Deployment tiers scale from a shared multi-tenant environment to a dedicated AWS environment and customer self-hosting, with compliance options (SOC 2, HIPAA) for regulated use cases.

Platform subscription/pricing tiers tied to deployment configuration (multi-tenant, dedicated instance, self-hosted), with free sign-up and paid plans; a price promotion was referenced for the Archie AI product.

Traction

At the time of the April 2022 Series A the company reported an oversubscribed round following accelerated customer and technical growth over the prior 12 months, had approximately 60 employees worldwide (about a quarter in South Florida) and planned to triple headcount within 12 months. In March 2024 its Archie product was named Best Product in AI & Data in the 2024 Product Awards.

Latest developments

In March 2024 Archie by 8base was recognized as Best Product in AI & Data in the 2024 Product Awards, and in May 2024 the company announced an Archie AI product update with new features and a price promotion. The website presents an end-to-end lifecycle offering spanning AI-assisted design (Archie), backend generation, developer or partner build, and managed hosting.