Funding the FOSS Ecosystem
Accelerating the open source flywheel in Europe with private sector & VC funding
31. Januar 2026
18:20 – 18:50 In Kalender übernehmen
18:20 – 18:50 In Kalender übernehmen
UD2.218A
<p>In a wide array of funding and investment directed at open source, enterprise and venture capital funding rarely gets an important slot in European discussions. </p>
<p>However, as shown in our recent "State of Commercial Open Source" research report of ~800 VC-backed commercial open source (COSS) companies, the virtuous cycle created by enterprise contributions and VC funding not only improves upstream open source projects across virtually every metric but drives thriving commercial ecosystems creating tangible economic and societal value. </p>
<p>The data is clear: while public funding (so far) often functions as early-stage seed capital or a safety net for critical projects, research shows enterprises contributing over $7.7B annually in funding and paid developer time to open source on a global basis. Furthermore there is a big promise in VC funding for open source, also in Europe, with the number and value of transactions rising in recent years, with $26.4B invested in 2024 and strong investment performance indicators. </p>
<p>As vertical sectors like finance, energy, telco, and agriculture increasingly embrace open source as a pillar of their digital transformation, it’s clear that commercial open source has become a superior venture model and a strategic opportunity for Europe, but one that requires engaging diverse stakeholders and mutual education on the opportunities at hand. </p>
<p>In this talk we will share Linux Foundation Europe’s experience of building (and balancing) some of the largest global open source ecosystems as well as Commit’s unique perspective as the first fund solely focused on commercial open source investments in Europe.</p>
Weitere Infos
| Live Stream | https://live.fosdem.org/watch/ud2218a |
|---|---|
| Format | devroom |
| Sprache | Englisch |
Weitere Sessions
| 31.01.26 |
<p>For nearly a decade, Open Collective has served as the financial and legal infrastructure for over 3,000 open source projects, managing millions in funding. However, for much of that history, the platform itself was owned by Venture Capitalists a tension that sits at the heart of the FOSS funding conversation.</p> <p>In this talk, we reveal how the platform’s largest users, specifically the Open Source Collective—orchestrated a coup to boot out the initial investors and restructure the ...
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| 31.01.26 |
<p>Free software has no shortage of talent, ideas, or users, but it does have a funding problem. The largest potential funding source already exists: public procurement. Governments spend billions each year on software and digital services, but most of that money flows into proprietary silos that limit transparency, reuse, and sovereignty.</p> <p>If we take “Public Money, Public Code” - https://publiccode.eu - seriously, we must recognize that procurement (not donations or sponsorships) is ...
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| 31.01.26 |
<p>This talk is a call-to-action to join our campaign to convince the European Union that, in order to secure its digital future, it should invest in open source maintenance via an EU Sovereign Tech Fund (EU-STF).</p> <p>Right now, the EU is negotiating its multi-year budget for the period of 2028-2034. Traditionally, the EU budget has been focused on regional development and agriculture, but more and more policymakers are realizing that investment in our digital infrastructure is just as ...
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| 31.01.26 |
<p>This is a session combining the experience of several FOSS projects in their funding journey. Each will have 10 minutes to present, after which a Q&A session will happen. </p> <p>The presenting FOSS projects will be:</p> <ul> <li> <p>Mockoon is a popular open-source API tool, built and maintained from Luxembourg. In this talk, its creator shares the journey of growing a developer tool used by thousands, without external funding. Learn what worked (and didn't) in the pursuit of ...
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| 31.01.26 |
<p>The Domain Name System (DNS) is one of the core pillars of the internet, enabling users to navigate the web reliably and securely. However, underfunded open source DNS projects create systemic risks, exposing millions of users to vulnerabilities and threatening the stability and security of the entire internet. </p> <p>The Nominet DNS Fund aims to tackle these critical gaps by investing in the security, resilience, and long-term viability of these essential open source components, recognising ...
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| 31.01.26 |
<p>This talk, based on <a href="https://doi.org/10.12688/openreseurope.20210.1">a paper in <em>Open Research Europe</em></a>, will discuss the current state of research software funding, propose a way of thinking about the different models that are currently used, and suggest new models to better support the global research software community.</p> <p>Today, research software funding operates across a disconnected landscape of public and private grant-making organizations, leading to ...
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| 31.01.26 |
<p>The open source funding landscape is changing. Funders struggle to effectively measure and communicate the impact of their programs beyond case-by-case stories. This disconnect threatens the long-term sustainability of funding and thus the sustainability of FOSS. We spent the last year talking with FOSS funding organizations and grant recipients to understand their approach to grant funding, impact reporting, and FOSS sustainability. We also sought to understand the disconnect between the ...
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