It’s 2025, we’re ready for more Open Source!
Members Newsletter – January 2025
Thank you for making 2024 the most generous year of all time: We had a record positive year across all the possible indicators. We’re energized by your personal donations and eager to continue working with philanthropic organizations to continue supporting the whole Open Source ecosystem.
Despite some churn in our list of sponsors, we are optimistic about the future. The 2024 Annual Report Preview has more details but suffice to say that we’ve entered 2025 energized and our growing team is ready for new tasks.
This year we’ll make it clear that we got the back of the Open Source communities: we have great plans to add more resources to our website, support developers, entrepreneurs and lawyers developing software, AI systems and datasets. We want to do more with you, OSI supporters and individual members of all kinds. Stay tuned!
The Open Source Initiative (OSI) is energized and optimistic, eager to achieve great things with your support in 2025.
Stefano Maffulli
Executive Director, OSI
I hold weekly office hours on Fridays with OSI members: book time if you want to chat about OSI’s activities, if you want to volunteer or have suggestions.
News from the OSI
2024 Annual Report (preview)
- Top Open Source licenses in 2024
- ClearlyDefined: 2024 in review – milestones, growth and community impact
- 2024 end-of-year review: policy and standards
- 2024 end-of-year review: Open Source AI Definition v1.0
- Top articles at OpenSource.net in 2024
Other highlights:
- Open Source AI and policy from the perspective of East Asia
- Standards and the presumption of conformity
OSI in the news
The Power Of Open Collaboration: How Open Source Is Shaping The Future Of AI
Article from Forbes
The Open Source Initiative (OSI) defines what open source is. For a model to truly be open source, its license should allow, among other things, the free redistribution and creation of derivative works, for example, by fine-tuning the model. If this permission is not granted, it’s not open source.
Other highlights:
- What’s Next for Open Source Software Security in 2025? (TechRepublic)
- 5 biggest Linux and open-source stories of 2024: From AI arguments to security close calls (ZDNet)
- Open source licenses: Everything you need to know (TechCrunch)
- Read all press mentions from this past month
Video and podcast:
- Why do we need a separate definition of Open Source for AI? (TiDB)
- Open Forum for Artificial Intelligence (Coalition for Networked Information)
- Open Source AI (FLOSS Weekly)
- [Keynote] What is Open Source AI? The Journey To A Definition (Open Source Experience)
Other news
News from OSI affiliates:
- Mozilla Foundation: For the sake of our digital future, open source must win
- Eclipse Foundation: The composition of the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) Expert Group: a key step toward Collaborative Cybersecurity Policy
- Creative Commons: Open Movement’s Common(s) Causes
- Apache Software Foundation: The Changing Tech Landscape: Keynotes at Community Over Code Emphasize Open Source’s Vital Role
- Linux Foundation: Linux Foundation Annual Report 2024: Accelerating Industry Innovation
- OpenInfra Foundation: 2024 — A Very Good Year for OpenInfra
- FreeBSD: Reflecting on a Successful 2024
Articles from OpenSource.net:
- Essential Python web security (Part 1)
- Security and cryptography algorithms: A guide (Part 2)
- TLS and networking (Part 3)
Events
Upcoming events:
- Paris Open Source AI Summit (January 22, 2025 – Paris)
- EU Open Source Policy Summit (January 31, 2025 – Brussels)
- FOSDEM (February 1-2, 2025 – Brussels)
- SCALE 22x (March 6-9, 2025 – Pasadena)
- FOSS Backstage (March 10-11, 2025 – Berlin)
- All Things Open AI (March 17-18, 2025 – Durhan)
- The Linux Foundation Member Summit (March 18-20, 2025 – Napa)
Thanks to our sponsors
New sponsors and renewals
- Automattic
- Bloomberg
- Intel
- Sourcegraph
Interested in sponsoring, or partnering with, the OSI? Please see our Sponsorship Prospectus and our Annual Report. Please contact the OSI to find out more about how your company can promote open source development, communities and software.
Get to vote for the OSI Board
Join as a full member by March 7, 2025, and gain the power to shape OSI’s future—cast your vote in the Board elections and influence the organization’s direction.