TL;DR
- Better Auth, a TypeScript-based authentication library built by Ethiopian self-taught developer Bereket Engida, has raised $5 million in seed funding.
- The tool has gained traction among AI startups and backend engineers for offering self-hosted, customizable open-source authentication without external data storage.
- Investors include Peak XV, Y Combinator, P1 Ventures, and Chapter One, marking Peak XV’s first direct investment in an African founder.
- The startup’s GitHub repo has surpassed 15,000 stars, with 150,000+ weekly downloads, and a community of 6,000+ Discord members.
- Engida built the MVP from his bedroom in Ethiopia, and the product is now part of YC’s most recent Spring batch.
From Bedroom Code to Global Adoption
It’s rare for a solo founder to disrupt a critical piece of developer infrastructure. It’s even rarer when that founder comes from a region like Ethiopia. But that’s exactly what Bereket Engida, a self-taught software engineer, has done with Better Auth — an open-source authentication framework now gaining global adoption.
Engida’s journey began after a friend refused to help build his e-commerce search app. Instead of giving up, he taught himself to code at 18. Over the years, he encountered the same challenge across every project: poor authentication tooling.
While options like Auth0, Firebase, and NextAuth existed, they either stored sensitive user data externally or lacked flexibility for permissions, teams, and roles. Engida’s response? Build a custom, open-source TypeScript authentication library that gave developers full backend control — no third-party vendor lock-in.
A Clean Break from Hosted Auth Services
Better Auth solves three major developer pain points:
- On-premise control – Developers store user data in their own database, not a third-party.
- Modular permissions – Out-of-the-box support for teams, roles, and org-level access.
- Lightweight extensibility – Advanced functionality added with just 2–3 lines of code.
These capabilities have attracted startups building proprietary AI tools, where custom workflows and secure token management are essential.
“Their auth product has seen phenomenal adoption among the next generation of AI startups,” said Arnav Sahu, partner at Peak XV and former Y Combinator principal.
Traction and Recognition
Better Auth launched quietly on GitHub in September 2024. Within months, it hit:
- 150,000+ weekly downloads
- 15,000+ GitHub stars
- 6,000+ Discord community members
This organic traction led to its acceptance into Y Combinator’s Spring 2025 batch — making it the third Ethiopian startup in YC after Avion and BeU Delivery.
The $5 million seed round, led by Peak XV (formerly Sequoia India & Southeast Asia), Y Combinator, P1 Ventures, and Chapter One, will support hiring, enterprise-grade feature development, and cloud add-ons.
Better Auth at a Glance
| Feature / Metric | Details | Source |
| Founder | Bereket Engida (Ethiopia) | TechCrunch |
| Product | Open-source auth library for teams, roles, and backend control | GitHub |
| Launch Date | GitHub release in September 2024 | TechCrunch |
| GitHub Stars | 15,000+ | GitHub |
| Weekly Downloads | 150,000+ | TechCrunch |
| Seed Funding | $5 million | Peak XV |
| Community | 6,000+ Discord members | TechCrunch |
| Core Backers | Peak XV, Y Combinator, P1 Ventures, Chapter One | TechCrunch |
Looking Ahead: Enterprise Cloud & Community Scaling
Better Auth is currently free and open-source, but Engida is preparing to launch a paid enterprise tier that plugs directly into the existing library. This hybrid model gives devs the freedom to self-host or pay for managed features — a compelling alternative to SaaS auth vendors with usage caps.
On the roadmap:
- Hiring engineers for code maintenance
- Expanding documentation
- Dedicated support for enterprise deployments
Still, Engida insists the community-built spirit won’t be lost. “We want to scale carefully,” he says, “without becoming just another vendor. That’s not why I started this.”
An Inspiration Beyond Code
Engida’s success story isn’t just about a new authentication tool — it represents a broader shift in who gets to build global developer tools. For an Ethiopian founder to go from self-taught coding to raising $5M and leading one of the most used auth libraries in the world, the symbolic weight is powerful.
“There aren’t many Ethiopian founders building global products,” Engida told TechCrunch. “Seeing this traction gives others hope to be more ambitious.”
