Orthogonal

What is Orthogonal?

Orthogonal is a platform that provides pre-built skills and APIs designed as building blocks for AI agents. It targets developers and software engineers who need their agents to access external data, interact with the web, or call specialized services without building each integration from scratch. The platform aggregates APIs from a range of partner providers, including tools for web search, web scraping, browser automation, and data enrichment, all accessible through a single account. Backed by Y Combinator, Orthogonal works with AI coding environments like Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor.

Key Features

• Skills Library: Pre-built agent skills that developers can install via a single setup, giving agents immediate access to a range of external capabilities without custom integration work.
• Discover APIs: A catalog of APIs covering LLM models and external data sources, with support for chat completions, streaming, tool calling, structured outputs, and reasoning modes.
• Brand Intelligence API: Extracts design system details from websites automatically, including colors, typography, spacing, shadows, and UI components.
• Pay-Per-Request Billing: Each API call is priced individually based on the API used. There are no subscriptions, and credits are deducted per request with no invoices or delays.
• Analytics Dashboard: Shows a breakdown of API usage by provider, including call counts and spend per API, so developers can track exactly where credits go.
• Auto Top-Up: An opt-in beta feature that automatically replenishes account credits to keep agent workflows running without manual intervention.
• Partner API Network: Access to APIs from partners including Linkup, ScrapeGraphAI, Notte, Olostep, Andi, Aviato, Tomba, Precip, and others, all available under a single account.

Use Cases

• AI Agent Developers: Developers building agents with tools like Claude Code or Cursor can connect their agents to live web data, search results, and scraped content using Orthogonal's skill setup at orthogonal.com/skill.md.
• Software Engineers Needing B2B Data: Engineers integrating people or company data into applications can use enrichment APIs from partners like Aviato and Tomba to access public web records for identity resolution or company intelligence.
• Teams Running Automated Workflows: Development teams with high call volumes can route multiple agent tasks, from web scraping to weather data to LLM calls, through a single credit account and monitor costs in the analytics dashboard.
• Developers Building with Real-Time Web Content: Applications that need current web information can use search and scraping APIs (such as Andi, Linkup, or ScrapeGraph) without managing separate API keys or billing relationships for each service.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths:

• Single account access to APIs from a wide range of partner providers removes the overhead of managing multiple API credentials.
• Pay-per-request pricing means there is no minimum spend, which suits developers in early stages or with variable usage.
• New users receive $10 in free credits so exploration of the platform before committing any payment.
• Works directly with popular AI coding environments (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor), which reduces setup friction for developers already using those tools.

Weaknesses:

• No publicly available user reviews or third-party ratings were found at the time of writing and is difficult to assess real-world reliability or performance from community feedback.
• The Enterprise tier has no publicly listed pricing, requiring direct contact with the team for cost estimates.
• Auto top-up is still in beta, which may be a concern for teams that rely on predictable, automated billing for production workloads.

Pricing

• Free: $0/month, includes $10 in starting credits, access to all public APIs, pay-per-request pricing, analytics, and auto top-up (beta).
• Enterprise: Custom pricing, includes everything in the Free tier plus custom credit packages and dedicated support. Contact [email protected] for details.

Billing is per request. Costs scale with agent activity, and the analytics dashboard shows spend broken down by API provider.

FAQ

What does it mean when something is orthogonal?

In general use, orthogonal describes things that are independent or unrelated to each other. In the context of this platform, Orthogonal is a service that provides pre-built skills and APIs as separate, modular building blocks for AI agents.

What is the figurative meaning of orthogonal?

Figuratively, orthogonal refers to something that operates independently without interfering with something else. Orthogonal the platform reflects this by letting developers add external capabilities to AI agents without modifying the core agent logic.

What is orthogonal vs perpendicular?

Perpendicular is the geometric term for two lines meeting at a 90-degree angle, while orthogonal is the broader mathematical and technical term covering the same concept across multiple dimensions. In software contexts like this platform, orthogonal typically means independent or non-overlapping rather than physically angled.

What is an orthogonal way of thinking?

An orthogonal way of thinking means approaching a problem from an independent or separate angle rather than along the same lines as existing solutions. Orthogonal the platform takes this approach by aggregating APIs from multiple partners into one account instead of requiring developers to build each integration separately.

Why do people say orthogonal?

The word is commonly used in technical fields to describe components or systems that are independent of one another. Developers and engineers use it to convey that two things can change or operate without affecting each other.

What is another word for orthogonal?

Common substitutes include independent, perpendicular, unrelated, or separate, depending on the context. In software architecture, modular or decoupled are also frequently used to express a similar idea.

What APIs does Orthogonal provide access to?

Orthogonal offers a catalog covering web search, web scraping, browser automation, data enrichment, LLM models, and weather data through partners including Linkup, ScrapeGraphAI, Notte, Olostep, Andi, Aviato, Tomba, and Precip.

How does billing work on Orthogonal?

Orthogonal uses pay-per-request billing, meaning each API call is priced individually with no subscriptions. Credits are deducted per request with no invoices or delays.

What AI coding environments does Orthogonal work with?

Orthogonal is compatible with Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor, and developers can connect agents using the skill setup at orthogonal.com/skill.md.

What is the Brand Intelligence API?

The Brand Intelligence API automatically extracts design system details from websites, including colors, typography, spacing, shadows, and UI components.

Does Orthogonal require separate API keys for each partner service?

No. All partner APIs are accessible through a single Orthogonal account, removing the need to manage separate API keys or billing relationships for each provider.

How can developers track their API usage on Orthogonal?

The analytics dashboard breaks down API usage by provider, showing call counts and spend per API so developers can monitor exactly where credits are going.

What is the Auto Top-Up feature?

Auto Top-Up is an opt-in beta feature that automatically replenishes account credits to keep agent workflows running without requiring manual intervention.

Who is Orthogonal built for?

Orthogonal targets developers and software engineers who need their AI agents to access external data, interact with the web, or call specialized services without building each integration from scratch.

Is Orthogonal backed by any investors?

Orthogonal is backed by Y Combinator.