Ladybird, a truly open web browser that is free from all constraints and develops its own browser engine from scratch without receiving any money from Google, has raised over 160 million yen from the founder of GitHub
To develop a web browser from scratch to compete with Mozilla's Firefox and Google's Chrome, without corporate deals or advertising revenue, GitHub founder
Announcing the Ladybird Browser Initiative
https://ladybird.org/announcement.html
Shared post - Ladybird Web Browser becomes a non-profit with $1 Million from GitHub Founder
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/5812560/ladybird-web-browser-becomes-a-non-profit-with-1-million-from-github-founder
The Ladybird Browser Initiative is a non-profit organization formed to build a completely new web browser from scratch. While some argue that it is impossible to develop a new web browser from scratch, the founders of The Ladybird Browser Initiative believe it is possible. In addition, The Ladybird Browser Initiative believes that it is possible to develop a browser from scratch without raising funds from corporate deals or advertising revenue.
The Ladybird Browser Initiative is developing a web browser called 'Ladybird,' with a fully functional alpha version scheduled to be released sometime in 2026.
Ladybird
https://ladybird.org/
Ladybird raised $100,000 (about 16 million yen) in funding from its first major sponsor, Shopify, in 2023. Now, with funding from Wanstrath and the launch of the non-profit The Ladybird Browser Initiative, Ladybird is steadily preparing to become the only major web browser that does not make a profit by selling personal information collected from users.
The Ladybird Browser Initiative told journalist Brian Landuke, 'Today, all major browser engines are open source, which is great. But there's one problem: all of the major browsers are funded by Google advertising. Chrome, Edge, Brave, Arc, and Opera are all based on Google's Chromium . Apple has received billions of dollars to make Google Search the default search engine in Safari, and Firefox has a similar deal. In other words, the world needs a web browser that puts users first, is open standard, and isn't influenced by advertising, with a modern browser engine.' The group has issued a statement calling for the need for a web browser that is not influenced by Google.
Instead of selling users' personal information or earning advertising revenue, the Ladybird Browser Initiative plans to raise funds through sponsorships from companies and individuals interested in the open web. The Ladybird Browser Initiative explains, 'Because we are a non-profit organization, we do not pursue any transactions or revenue from companies other than unlimited donations. The software and source code are available for free, forever.'
In fact, the source code for Ladybird, currently under development, is publicly available on GitHub.
GitHub - LadybirdBrowser/ladybird: A truly independent web browser
https://github.com/LadybirdBrowser/ladybird
Relying on donations for most of its operating funds seems like a very unstable organizational policy, but Ladybird has a track record of raising large amounts of donations in the past, and the $1 million provided by Wanstrath will be provided to The Ladybird Browser Initiative in the form of a donation. The Ladybird Browser Initiative already employs four full-time developers and plans to hire three more programmers.
In addition, as they have declared that they will not pursue any transactions or revenue with companies other than unlimited donations, they will not enter into any contract to make Google the default search engine. Therefore, 'if Ladybird can stick to its claims, it will be more likely to realize a truly independent web browser, which means a browser that no company can control,' Landuquet points out.
In addition, The Ladybird Browser Initiative has a policy that 'corporate donors cannot purchase seats on the board of directors.' Many nonprofits start out with lofty ideals, but their boards are often dominated by corporations, and they often fall away from achieving those ideals. 'It's great that Ladybird has been mindful of this problem from the beginning and taken steps to prevent it,' said Landuke, who has seen many nonprofits start out with lofty ideals, but their boards are often dominated by corporations, and they fall away from achieving those ideals.
Although the alpha version is scheduled to be released 'sometime in 2026,' the development version at the time of writing seems to be quite advanced, and The Ladybird Browser Initiative stated, 'We already run some of our everyday web browsing on Ladybird, such as managing GitHub issues and pull requests, and commenting on Hacker News. The browser is improving every day as the community of contributors actively fixes bugs and adds features,' emphasizing that development is progressing smoothly.
'The web is one of mankind's greatest inventions, and it needs diverse and competing implementations to truly thrive,' said Kling, one of the developers. 'The industry has been heading in a problematic direction for years, with companies like Microsoft and Opera abandoning their own browser engines in favor of Chromium. Of course, we don't have the resources of Google, Apple, or Mozilla, so development will take time. But I'm very optimistic about the road ahead. Ladybird has a great developer community and we're making steady progress. One of our strengths is our focus. Unlike major companies, we're completely focused on one thing: the web browser. We're not going to chase trends or look for another source of revenue. Our goal is to build a great browser, distribute it for free, and raise donations from people who support our efforts.'
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