Members Newsletter – June 2025
May was a full immersion into some of the largest components of the Open Source ecosystem, from maintainers to founders. Jordan Maris (OSI EU policy manager) and I went to the Open Source Founders Summit in Paris to meet small businesses, mature companies and startups and share our knowledge of the Cyber Resilience Act. It turns out we were also there to learn as we noticed a couple important misunderstandings of the OSI.
We noticed how much opportunity there is to promote OSI’s policy program. It hit me how few people knew that OSI grew the policy team by four people, hired to do the important work of protecting companies doing business with Open Source.
We also realized there is a belief amongst many that OSI defends the interests of the large tech organizations, a false image we don’t want to own. That is not what we are trying to do. OSI maintains the Open Source Definition, the foundation for the whole ecosystem, not just big tech. Our vision is to help “build a world where the freedoms and opportunities of Open Source software can be enjoyed by all.”
I made it a point to start a conversation with the OSI board to better understand where this misunderstanding is coming from and how we might repair it. Watch this space for more initiatives toward that end in the near future.
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
OSI at the Open Source Founders Summit: supporting entrepreneurs to build a business with Open Source
Open Source Founders Summit (#05F525), held May 19–20 in Paris, brought together a vibrant community of Open Source entrepreneurs, builders, and advocates for two days of deep, engaging conversations about what it takes to create sustainable, successful Open Source companies
Open Forum for AI, Open Source Initiative respond to White House on AI R&D strategy
The Open Forum for AI (OFAI) and OSI submitted feedback to the White House in response to its request for information on the development of a 2025 National AI R&D Strategic Plan.
End of 10: The Open Source alternative to forced obsolescence
The OSI is proud to stand with the “End of 10” campaign—a community-driven effort to turn the looming end of Windows 10 support into an opportunity for freedom, sustainability, and digital empowerment.
OSI in the news
How the World Is Celebrating Open Source Maintainer Month
Article from The New Stack
For their contribution to Maintainer Month, the OSI has collected nearly four dozen stories from maintainers to create a moment of visibility, publishing them all as a curated collection at OpenSource.org
Celebrating Maintainer Month
50 maintainers came together for Maintainer Month to share their stories. These maintainers not only write code, review issues, and merge pull requests—they also navigate community dynamics, mentor new contributors, and increasingly adopt security best practices to protect their code and users. They literally keep the digital infrastructure up and running for the benefit of all. Read their stories.
Other highlights
Data Commons Can Save Open AI (The New Stack)
Meta-funded study touts the benefits of open source AI, but some critics say its own Llama models don’t meet open source standards (TechRepublic)
Read all press mentions from this past month
Other news
News from OSI affiliates
Rust Foundation: Announcing Rust 1.87.0 and ten years of Rust!
Creative Commons: Understanding CC Licenses and AI Training: A Legal Primer
Eclipse Foundation: Announcing Security Training on Vulnerability Management, SBOM and related subjects
OpenInfra Foundation: We’ve Closed the Deal—And Opened a New Chapter for Open Source
Open Future Foundation: White Paper on Public AI: A Public Alternative to Private AI Dominance
Digital Public Goods Alliance: AI systems as digital public goods – a dive into what this means from a slightly more technical perspective
Linux Foundation: The Open Source Legacy and AI’s Licensing Challenge
Software Heritage: ISO Standard for SWHIDs: Robust software identification
Free Software Foundation Europe: Industry Committee vote: Technology sovereignty is only possible with Free Software
The Document Foundation: ODF 20th Anniversary Video
Java: Celebrating 30 Years of Java with James Gosling
Events
Upcoming events
Viva Technology (June 11-14 – Paris)
UN Open Source Week (June 16-20 – NYC)
OW2con (June 17-18 – Paris)
Open Source Summit NA (June 23-25 – Denver)
Linux Foundation Europe Roadshow (July 8 – Milan)
Call for Proposals
Nerdearla (September 23-27 – Buenos Aires)
Deep Dive: Data Governance (October 1-3 – Online)
OpenForum Academy (OFA) Symposium 2025 (November 18-19 – Rio de Janeiro)
Open Source Experience (December 10-11 – Paris)
Deep Dive: Data Governance
OSI is organizing a premier virtual gathering of leading AI & Data practitioners on Oct 1 – 3. Call for Papers is open until June 28, submit your proposal today!
Thanks to our sponsors
New sponsors and renewals
Microsoft
See all sponsors
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.
Support OSI by becoming a full member
Let’s build a world where knowledge is freely shared, ideas are nurtured, and innovation knows no bounds!
Join as a full member!
Source: opensource.org