#Japan #Tokyo #Kong #Userbase #AIGateway

Kong AIGateway: Revolutionizing AI Integration for Userbase

In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, the demand for reliable and swift decision-making based on trustworthy information is paramount. To meet this need, Kong Inc., a leading API management company based in Tokyo, has announced its collaboration with Userbase Inc. to enhance their AI agent capabilities through the integration of Kong's AIGateway. This technological advancement aims to facilitate immediate support for Userbase’s multiple B2B data services, a critical move in the era of generative AI.

Background and Objectives

Userbase, the company behind the economic information platform Speeda, offers an array of B2B data services like Speeda Customer Analysis and Speeda Expert Research. There is an increasing user demand for innovative ways to access data for speedy decisions, particularly through AI agents integrated into business applications. This has led Userbase to embark on the Speeda AI Agent project, focused on constructing a new integration infrastructure that allows clients and external agents to connect securely and at scale to their proprietary database through the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

Challenges Before Implementation

Prior to employing Kong AIGateway, Userbase faced a major hurdle with the manual connection of over fifty APIs to AI agents, resulting in inefficiencies and increased operational costs. Developers were bogged down with the intricacies of building and maintaining individual MCP servers for each API link, detracting from their ability to focus on improving user experience and enhancing functionality within the AI agents. The need to standardize and offload MCP responsiveness became an evident technical necessity for growth and efficiency.

Why Kong AIGateway?

Userbase opted for Kong's AIGateway due to its highly favorable no-code capabilities. The platform allows for a swift transition of existing APIs into MCP-compatible tools with minimal setup:

• - No-code MCP Implementation: Kong’s platform enables seamless MCP integration for existing APIs.
• - Centralized Management: Userbase can efficiently manage nearly fifty MCP servers through manageable and declarative configuration files.
• - Adaptability and Scalability: With the capability to adapt to protocol updates, Kong ensures future readiness for Userbase.
• - Familiarity with Kong OSS: Their previous experiences with Kong OSS provide a smoother migration path.

While evaluating various gateways, Userbase recognized Kong's superior scalability and operational sustainability, concluding that it stood out compared to others that necessitated individual server setups for each API.

Future Prospects

The launch of Speeda AI Agent marks a significant step for Userbase in expanding its services via AI technology. Key goals moving forward include:

• - Broadening External Collaborations: Establishing environments conducive to safe data sharing with external company AI agents, thus enriching the accessibility of Speeda data.
• - Dynamic Pricing Models: Reviewing pricing strategies based on agent collaborations and data utilization to facilitate broader access to high-trustful data for more enterprises.
• - Enhanced Integration Capabilities: Developing a scalable hub by strategically deploying MCP servers to connect various API and AI agent networks efficiently.

According to Naoyuki Hayashi, CTO of Userbase, “MCP framework establishment is a crucial theme for advancing AI agent capabilities. The partnership with Kong AIGateway allows our development team to focus efforts on vital features and UX improvements.”

Daiki Arizumi, president of Kong Inc., emphasized the honor of supporting Userbase's pioneering endeavors in next-gen decision-making support.

In an era where data is abundant, the collaboration between Kong and Userbase signifies a commitment to leveraging technology for accelerating business intelligence and operational excellence, setting new pathways for how companies interact with data and make informed decisions.