Parse Platform
Open-source backend for mobile and web applications.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | N/A | - | |
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
Parse Platform is an open-source Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS) framework that enables developers to build applications for web, mobile, and IoT devices. The platform provides a comprehensive suite of tools to accelerate development, including features like database management, APIs, user authentication, real-time notifications, file storage, and server-side code execution. It supports multiple database options, including MongoDB and PostgreSQL, and allows for flexible file storage with providers like Amazon S3 and Google Cloud Storage.
The original company, Parse, Inc., was founded in 2011 by Tikhon Bernstam, Ilya Sukhar, James Yu, and Kevin Lacker, who were alumni of Y Combinator and Google. They aimed to create a set of backend tools to simplify the development process for mobile applications. The startup saw rapid growth, securing $5.5 million in venture capital funding in November 2011 and attracting 20,000 developers within a year. In 2013, Facebook acquired Parse for a reported $85 million. Under Facebook, the platform grew to power over 500,000 mobile apps by 2014.
In January 2016, Facebook announced it would be shutting down the Parse hosting service to refocus its resources. Concurrently, Facebook open-sourced the platform, allowing the developer community to take over its maintenance and evolution. This transition ensured the platform's survival and fostered a large, active community that continues to develop and support the framework. The business model shifted from a hosted service to a self-hosted or third-party hosted platform, giving developers full control over their backend infrastructure. Companies like Back4App now offer specialized hosting services for Parse applications.
Keywords: open-source backend, Backend-as-a-Service, BaaS, mobile app development, web application framework, Parse Server, database management, API creation, user authentication, push notifications, cloud functions, self-hosting, Node.js, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, GraphQL API, REST API, real-time queries, live queries, multi-platform SDK, application backend