Open Source Developer and Entrepreneur Creates First-of-its-Kind Fund to Support Maintainers

Appwrite, the leading open source Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform for web, mobile and flutter developers, announced its Open Source Software Fund (OSS Fund), which will award $50,000 in its first year to open source maintainers whose projects provide the very foundation for today’s digital infrastructure but who aren’t being compensated as such.

Appwrite’s annual OSS Fund will contribute to the industry-wide need to support open source maintainers, accelerate technology innovation and raise awareness for a diverse set of solutions for sustaining open source development. The fund amount will be revisited each year to adjust to best support the needs of the community.

Recommended AI News: Infoworks Replicator Dramatically Accelerates On-Premises Hadoop Data Migration to the Cloud

“I know what it’s like to spend long hours in front of your computer, putting your blood, sweat and tears into something you love and that is also benefiting thousands or even millions of people around the world,” said Eldad Fux, founder & CEO of Appwrite. “I’ve known all along that we would use some of Appwrite’s success and investment to support other developers and maintainers just like me, to give back in order to look forward. We hope our contribution can make a difference.”

The sustainability of open source developers and maintainers is one of the biggest concerns in the technology ecosystem today. With open source software making up 70-90 percent of all software, it provides the underpinning of our digital society, – yet many developers and maintainers working on the most critical projects embedded across networks and products remain unpaid or underpaid. How to support these individuals has become a hotly debated topic and a variety of solutions have been proposed. Appwrite is moving beyond the debate to take action for maintainers, elevating their work and awarding monetary support for their contributions to the industry and digital society.

Recommended AI News: Onix Launches New, Customer-Centric Website

“Funding and sustaining open source software for decades to come is going to require many solutions. What Appwrite and Eldad are doing could be the start of a trend, where we see developers supporting developers to build a better, more equitable and sustainable open source ecosystem,” said Chip Hazard, General Partner, Flybridge.

Appwrite founder Eldad Fux started his development career by contributing to open source software projects and being part of open source communities. He started Appwrite as a side project and built it from scratch and from the start as a BaaS product. Today, Fux embraces the open source creed by focusing on a fully open source platform and giving back to the community in a variety of ways that now also includes the Appwrite OSS Fund.

“Open source powers most of the World’s modern day infrastructure, from mobile to web, cars and even missions beyond this planet. This is only sustainable by the generosity of the community, their time and efforts. However, this could be improved by the support of more companies and organizations, to prevent community members’ burnout,” said Eddie Jaoude, Developer and Creator of EddieHub.

Recommended AI News: Paradatec Enhances Automated Document Processing Technology, Adds Expanded Data Audit Trails

[To share your insights with us, please write to sghosh@martechseries.com]