Agora was the invisible infrastructure behind Clubhouse's viral 2021 moment — 10 million users of live audio rooms, all powered by an API built by the founding engineer of WebEx. Tony Zhao left Cisco, spent 14 years watching everyone struggle with real-time video and audio, and built the API that made it trivially easy. The NASDAQ ticker is literally API.
Founded
2014
HQ
Santa Clara, CA (Shangai origin)
Total Raised
Public (NASDAQ: API)
Founder
Tony Zhao
Status
Public (NASDAQ: API) — profitable on non-GAAP basis
Website
agora.ioTHE ORIGIN STORY
Tony Zhao was the founding engineer of WebEx (the video conferencing company acquired by Cisco for $3.2B in 2000). He spent years watching real-time communications infrastructure remain difficult and expensive to build, requiring deep networking expertise.
In 2014 he founded Agora with a clear thesis: every app will eventually need real-time voice and video, and most development teams cannot build it reliably. Agora would provide the infrastructure as an API.
Clubhouse used Agora's API for its live audio rooms, scaling to millions of users without building any real-time infrastructure themselves. Zoom Workplace integrations, fitness apps, live commerce — Agora's API is embedded in hundreds of applications that users never realize are using it.
WHAT THEY ACTUALLY DO
Agora charges developers per minute of usage — every minute of audio, video, or interactive live streaming processed through its platform generates revenue. The model is pure metered usage: build on the free tier (10,000 free minutes/month), then pay as traffic scales.
Enterprise contracts add guaranteed minimums and support.
THE PRODUCTS
Agora Real-Time Engagement API (voice, video, live streaming), Agora Chat, Agora Interactive Whiteboard, Agora Extensions Marketplace
HOW THEY GREW
Agora's China infrastructure advantage was its early growth engine — Chinese developers building apps needed real-time capabilities that worked reliably in China (where international networks are slow), and Agora's domestic network delivered. Global expansion leveraged those infrastructure investments.
Being the API behind Clubhouse at its viral 2021 peak gave Agora massive brand credibility in the developer community.
THE HARD PART
The real-time communications API market is competitive and commoditizing. Twilio Video competed directly before shutting down its video product in 2023.
Daily.co, LiveKit, 100ms, and AWS Chime SDK all offer similar capabilities. Pricing pressure has compressed per-minute rates.
Agora's moat is its global network infrastructure — it has points of presence and optimized routes specifically for real-time traffic in China and Southeast Asia, markets where competitors' infrastructure is weaker.
MONEY TRAIL
Series A
2015 · Led by Morningside Venture Capital
$9M raised
Series C
2018 · Led by Coatue, Shunwei Capital
$50M raised
IPO
2020 · Led by NASDAQ: API
$0 raised
WHO BACKED THEM
Morningside Venture Capital, Shunwei Capital, Coatue Management, public market investors
Related Profiles
Head-to-Head
Compare Agora vs another company.