Daniel Stenberg, the maintainer of the curl project, discussed the challenges of maintaining the widely-used open-source software during a keynote at the Open Source Summit Europe 2025. Despite its significant impact and usage in billions of devices, the project struggles with a lack of financial support from the companies that rely on it, as well as increasing maintenance burdens and problematic communications from users and organizations. Stenberg emphasized the importance of reconsidering how businesses contribute to the open-source projects they depend on for their products.

Creative funding mechanisms for open source projects are becoming essential as maintainers face burnout and financial instability. The Wix Toolset has implemented an Open Source Maintenance Fee for commercial users, while the startup Astral is monetizing its open source package manager uv through a paid enterprise-focused registry. These approaches aim to improve sustainability and support for maintainers while preserving the principles of free and open source software.

LangChain Inc. has successfully raised $125 million in Series B funding, reaching a valuation of $1.25 billion. The company offers an open-source AI agent development tool that simplifies the building of AI applications, allowing developers to switch language models seamlessly and improve productivity with its suite of tools, including LangGraph and LangSmith.

The Python Software Foundation (PSF) has withdrawn a $1.5 million proposal for a grant from the National Science Foundation due to terms that conflicted with their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Despite the potential benefits of the funding for enhancing Python security, the PSF prioritized their values and mission over financial gain. They are now seeking support from the community to sustain their operations.