Better Auth, an authentication tool by a self-taught Ethiopian dev, raises $5M from Peak XV, YC

In a remarkable achievement, Bereket Engida, a self-taught programmer from Ethiopia, has developed a developer infrastructure tool that is rapidly gaining traction among tech professionals. His startup, Better Auth, presents an innovative open-source framework aimed at simplifying user authentication for developers. Engida recently attracted significant investment, securing approximately $5 million in seed funding from notable backers such as Peak XV (previously Sequoia India and Southeast Asia), Y Combinator, P1 Ventures, and Chapter One. Engida's journey began at the age of 18 when a friend declined to assist him in creating an e-commerce search application, prompting him to take matters into his own hands. He subsequently landed remote software positions and developed a web analytics platform that allowed developers to monitor user behavior. Throughout his experiences, he identified a common pain point: the need for better authentication solutions. Existing tools often fell short, either being too restrictive or costly at scale, as they stored user data externally. Determined to fill this gap, Engida embarked on a new project, creating a TypeScript-based authentication framework designed to provide developers access to user data through open-source libraries. This framework supports common use cases such as user permissions and roles, allowing for easy scaling through plug-ins. Over six months of development in Ethiopia, Engida produced the initial version of Better Auth. Since its launch on GitHub in September 2024, the tool has seen impressive adoption, with over 150,000 weekly downloads and 15,000 GitHub stars, alongside a growing community of more than 6,000 Discord members. What sets Better Auth apart is its ability to facilitate everything from basic authentication flows to complex enterprise systems directly within developers' databases, avoiding reliance on third-party services. This on-premise approach is particularly appealing to companies concerned about sharing sensitive user data externally. Additionally, the tool has gained unexpected popularity among early-stage AI startups needing to create custom authentication flows that work seamlessly with proprietary APIs and manage tokens securely. Arnav Sahu, a partner at Peak XV, highlighted the product's remarkable growth within the AI startup ecosystem, noting that numerous startups have expressed interest in Better Auth. Engida's venture represents a significant milestone as Peak XV's first direct investment in an African founder. Looking ahead, Engida plans to enhance Better Auth's core features and introduce a paid enterprise version alongside the free offering. This will enable developers to choose between self-hosting or utilizing Better Auth's cloud solutions as required. He is also focused on maintaining the community-driven spirit of the product while considering expanding his team to support ongoing development and documentation efforts. Despite the challenges, Engida remains dedicated to writing most of the code himself. As a graduate of Y Combinator's recent spring cohort, Better Auth stands as a beacon of hope for aspiring entrepreneurs in Ethiopia, showcasing the potential for founders from the region to create impactful global products.