Vercel, the company that helps developers deploy websites and web applications on the internet, has acquired Better Auth.

Better Auth is an open-source TypeScript authentication library that enables developers to host and manage authentication themselves instead of relying on third-party hosted services.

Founded by Bereket Engida, Better Auth currently has 4.7M+ weekly npm downloads and more than 850 contributors, according to Vercel, which made the acquisition announcement in a blog post.

“Founder Bereket Engida and the core team are joining Vercel to continue their work on Better Auth and agent identity,” said Guillermo Rauch, CEO and founder of Vercel, in the blog post.

In the era of AI agents, web developers are no longer just battling to build apps and websites that can authenticate humans; they are now thinking of how to authenticate autonomous agents acting on behalf of humans.

Bereket Engida joins Vercel

In a separate blog post, Bereket, the Ethiopian self-taught developer who started Better Auth in 2024, said joining Vercel will enable his team to continue their work to improve the auth framework.

“Together, we’ll also be able to invest more deeply in where auth is heading: a future where agents act on users’ behalf and need secure, scoped, and revocable access, while bringing these primitives across Vercel’s products,” Bereket said.

Neither Better Auth nor Vercel disclosed how much the deal was worth.

Reacting to the development, Nigerian investor and founder of Tekedia Capital, Ndubuisi Ekekwe, disclosed that Better Auth was a Tekedia portfolio company.

“Good People, it is with great excitement that I announce the acquisition of one of our portfolio companies, Better Auth, by the industry-leading decacorn, Vercel. Founded by a self-taught tech prodigy from Ethiopia, Better Auth has ascended to become a preeminent force in open-source authentication,” Ekweke said in a LinkedIn post Thursday.

In 2025, Better Auth raised $5 million in seed funding from Y Combinator, Chapter One, P1 Ventures, and Peaky XV, TechCrunch reports.

Palo Alto-based AI training company, Micro1, has commited $5 million to its newly launched Company Data Partnerships Referral Program.

Founder, Ali Ansari, announced in a post he shared on LinkedIn, that referers could earn up to $25000 commission for each successful onboarding.

“Today, we’re committing $5,000,000 to launch the micro1 Company Data Partnerships Referral Program. For every company you refer, you can earn up to $25,000. Simply introduce a company, have them identify you as the referrer during onboarding, and once they enter into a paid data partnership with micro1, you’ll receive your referral payout,” Ansari said in the post.

According to information on the company’s website, the Micro1 Company Data Partnerships “help companies to turn anonymized workflows into structured datasets used to train frontier AI models.”

Partnering companies are then paid between $100,000 to $1 million, depending on the scope.

“If you know a company that wants to turn its operational data into a recurring revenue stream while accelerating its adoption of AI through micro1's Data Partnership Program, we’d love an introduction,” Ansari said in his post.

Micro1 notes on its website that partnering companies will maintain control over the process, deciding what to share and what to withhold.

“We are not asking for unrestricted access to company systems or sensitive internal information. Every partnership is carefully scoped and reviewed, with privacy requirements tailored to your business.”

For Gavin, it is his grandfather’s abandoned 1993 Camaro Z28 car, which he inherited and restored days after the US Air Force veteran died of cancer.

Ohio-based WD Detailing got a call from Gavin, who wanted to restore his grandfather’s car that had been parked since 2021. The Chevy Camaro Z28 has only been driven 5309 miles since it was purchased in 2017.

@wddetailingRestoring Deceased Grandpa’s ABANDONED “Bumblebee” Camaro SS For His Grandson! #detailing #carwash #satisfying #cleaning #cardetailing

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The Camero was a prized possession

“It was one of the owner’s most prized possessions until one day, the family’s world changed,” WD Detailing said in a YouTube video. “The oldest grandson reached out to us with an urgent message. His grandfather was battling stage four cancer, and the doctors told the family may only have a couple of weeks left. The hope was to bring this Camero back to life for him to see it all clean. But before that could happen, we received a call.”

That dream wasn’t accomplished. Gavin’s grandfather had passed even before the team at WD Detailing could start work on the prized piece. His grandfather’s death made the restoration of the car even more appealing to Gavin, who wanted to keep it to honour the veteran’s memory.

“My grandfather, I knew him by calling him ‘Papa’. He was the coolest guy. I mean, literally the best friend I could ask for. He was in the Air Force. He was the only guy I don’t have any single negative memory of. Just saying he was a good man would be an understatement. He bought it in 2017, and he drove it for a bit,” Gavin said amidst tears.

The Camero had not been driven since 2021

Though the engine revved to life when the ignition was turned, the Camero could benefit from a lot of cleaning. “The last time it was washed….I washed it in 2021. About five years, it’s been outside,” Gavin informed the WD Detailing team who came to pick the barned car.

Gavin’s Papa had a bad accident before COVID in 2020 and had withdrawn from driving the car due to the shock and a hip problem he developed. Since then, no one had touched it until there was an urgent need to restore it.

The team at WD Detailing went the extra mile for Gavin, as they not only cleaned the car but also installed brand new tyres, all for free. He was blown away when he beheld the car after the transformation.

“Oh my God! I could literally see myself on it. That’s insane, that is absolutely insane,” Gavin said in reaction to the cleanliness of the car. He was emotionally moved, promising to keep the car for as long as he lives.

“This is his legacy. This car, which will be with me till the day I die.”

YouTube users were moved by the video. “I lost my grandpa 2 years ago, and what he said about his grandpa is 100% how I felt about mine. What he said really hit home and I’m sad to hear that he wasn’t able to see the car come back to its former glory,” said a user identified in the comment section as @Ermatinger503.

“I'm sad for him losing a family member, but he can remember his smile every time he drives it. Great job cleaning it up, amazing SS Camero,” said yet another users known as @blahblah4125.