Kampala
Turns apps without public APIs into callable APIs via a reverse-engineering proxy.
On the record
Checkpoint: Window to land named enterprise customers in a regulated vertical before computer-use models hit 90% reliability
The call
Kampala fills a real gap with a technique that isn't locked down yet, racing frontier agents and cleaner API vendors for the same customers.
Kampala lets companies talk to software that doesn't have official connection tools by reverse-engineering how the software works under the hood. The problem is real, but Google and OpenAI are building AI that can use any software by watching and clicking the screen, which solves the same problem Kampala is trying to fix. At the same time, companies like Composio already offer pre-built connections to popular software, making Kampala's approach look riskier and less convenient. The one thing that could save Kampala is if it locks in customers in one specific industry, like hospital record-keeping or insurance processing, before the AI tools get good enough or before customers just use those bigger, safer alternatives instead.
Why
01
AI pressure: Google Gemini Computer Use / OpenAI Operator. Screen-layer agents now hit 78.4% on OSWorld, chasing the same no-API gap Kampala fills by hand. Could AI do the core job? Yes, likely.
02
Bigger players: Composio (with Arcade, Nango, Browserbase, Steel.dev). Composio already sells documented, pre-built connectors, the safer version of what Kampala reverse-engineers. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.
03
What protects it. Its proxy traces auth chains and replays sessions while preserving TLS fingerprints, a technique rivals haven't matched yet.
What would change this call
Google Gemini or OpenAI Operator computer-use benchmark score reaches 90%+ on OSWorld within 12 months. Would show frontier models are closing the reliability gap Kampala exists to fill, eroding its rationale.
Kampala announces a named paying enterprise customer in healthcare EHR or insurance claims within a year. Would show the vertical lock-in strategy is gaining real traction, not just developer interest.
A target software vendor issues a cease-and-desist or tightens anti-bot defenses specifically against reverse-engineering tools like Kampala. Would show the legal and technical approach underlying Kampala's product is under direct threat.
Kampala announces a named paying enterprise customer in healthcare EHR or insurance claims within a year. Would show the vertical lock-in strategy is gaining real traction, not just developer interest.
A target software vendor issues a cease-and-desist or tightens anti-bot defenses specifically against reverse-engineering tools like Kampala. Would show the legal and technical approach underlying Kampala's product is under direct threat.
Key numbers
- Gemini Computer Use scores 78.4% on OSWorld-Verified
- HN launch drew 62 points, 59 comments
- Founding Engineer role posted at $140K-$220K + equity
Named risks
- Core method of reverse-engineering vendors' private APIs may violate target companies' terms of service.
- Frontier computer-use models (Gemini, Operator) improving reliability could commoditize the pain point Kampala solves within 6-12 months.
- No named, verified enterprise customers or revenue found in any third-party source as of mid-2026.
- Target vendors could tighten anti-bot defenses or pursue cease-and-desist action against Kampala-style capture.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Composio | losing to | Cited as leading incumbent across multiple third-party comparisons as of 2026-01-14 |
| Google (Gemini 2.5/3.5 Computer Use) | losing to | Shipped Project Mariner and Chrome/Search integration, 78.4% OSWorld score by 2026-07-08 |
| OpenAI Operator (CUA) | contesting | Competing consumer-facing computer-use agent iterating as of 2026-04-27 |
| Browserbase | losing to | Described as at Series B scale in independent 2026-07-08 review |
| Nango | contesting | Code-first platform connecting 900+ APIs, positioned as Composio alternative as of 2026-04-06 |
| Arcade | contesting | MCP-native runtime for tool execution, marketed as Composio alternative as of 2026-06-10 |
Questions people ask
- Is Kampala (Zatanna) profitable in 2026?
- No revenue figures have been disclosed. Kampala is a pre-seed, early-stage YC W26 startup that launched publicly on Hacker News on 2026-04-16 and is still hiring its first Founding Engineer as of 2026-07-06, with no confirmed customer revenue reported.
- Could AI replace Kampala's core product?
- Possibly. Kampala reverse-engineers apps into APIs to avoid brittle browser automation, but Google's Gemini 2.5/3.5 Computer Use (78.4% OSWorld-Verified as of 2026-07-08) and OpenAI's Operator are racing to solve the same screen-navigation problem natively, which could shrink demand for Kampala's approach.
- Who is Kampala's biggest competitor?
- Composio is cited across multiple 2026 third-party comparison pieces as the leading incumbent in AI agent integration platforms, per a composio.dev post dated 2026-01-14. Adjacent rivals include Arcade, Nango, Browserbase, and Steel.dev, plus frontier labs Google and OpenAI.
- Who owns or founded Kampala?
- Kampala is built by Zatanna, founded by Rithvik Vanga (CEO), Tarun Vedula, and Alex Blackwell, confirmed via a 2026-05-08 Fondo blog profile. Vanga previously worked at Pikkit on anti-bot bypassing. The company is part of Y Combinator's Winter 2026 batch.
- What exactly does Kampala do?
- Kampala is a MITM-style proxy that captures a user's network traffic while they perform a workflow in an app, then traces authentication chains (tokens, cookies, sessions, SSO/MFA) and generates a callable API or script that replays the flow while preserving HTTP/TLS fingerprints, confirmed 2026-04-16.
- Does Kampala face legal risk?
- Yes. A 2026-04-16 independent analysis flagged that reverse-engineering vendors' private, undocumented APIs may violate those companies' terms of service, calling it the central ethical and practical tradeoff facing Kampala's business model.
Timeline
- 2026-07-08Independent review notes Browserbase at Series B scale and Gemini 3.5 Flash scoring 78.4% OSWorld-Verified
- 2026-07-06Zatanna posts Founding Engineer role in San Francisco, $140K-$220K plus equity
- 2026-06-10Arcade publishes comparison piece naming Composio as leading incumbent, positions itself as alternative
- 2026-05-31Open-source GitHub project 'reverse-api-engineer' emerges as alternative approach
- 2026-05-16Third-party demo shows Kampala plus Claude/Opus via MCP reverse-engineering an office door-unlock system
- 2026-05-08Fondo blog profiles co-founders Tarun Vedula and Alex Blackwell of Zatanna
- 2026-04-16Kampala publicly launches on Hacker News as YC W26 company, MITM proxy approach detailed
- 2026-03-10Zatanna confirmed as part of Y Combinator Winter 2026 batch
Revision history
27 July 2026
First assessed. Losing its protection. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- Zatanna: Turning all software into agent-first APIs
- Kampala, YC W26 Launch on Hacker News
- Zatanna raises $500K Pre-Seed, Startup Geek
- Zatanna Funding: $1M
- START: Tarun Vedula & Alex Blackwell, Co-founders, Zatanna (2026-05-08)
- Zatanna, Turn software workflows into reliable APIs for AI agents
- Kampala Reverse-Engineers Apps Into APIs, And the API-First World Is Eating Itself (2026-04-16)
- Unifold: Multi-chain deposit and payment infrastructure
- Founding Engineer at Zatanna (2026-07-06)
- Kampala, MITM Proxy for Reverse Engineering & Workflow... (2026-04-16)
- Teaching Claude to unlock my office with Kampala (in 15 mins) (2026-05-16)
- Best AI agent integration platforms (2026): comparison for developers (2026-01-14)