Open Source Initiative

Not to be confused with Open Software Foundation, Open Access Initiative, or National Open Source Enterprise.
Open Source Initiative
FormationFebruary 8, 1998 (26 years ago) (1998-02-08)
TypeStandards organization[1]
Location
Area served
Worldwide
Executive Director
Stefano Maffulli (September 2021 – present)
Budget
US$209,500 (2019)[3]
Revenue
US$209,500 (2019)[4]
Websiteopensource.org

The Open Source Initiative (OSI) is the steward of the Open Source Definition, the most widely used standard for open-source software.

Founded in 1998, the Open Source Initiative coined the term open source in opposition to the free software movement. While free software is the same thing as open-source software, OSI preferred to make a pragmatic and business-friendly case for open-source software.

For most of its existence, the OSI's activities have been focused on the definition and certifying software licenses as compliant with it. OSI originally had a closed organizational model, but began to switch towards a membership organization in the 2010s to raise more money and expand its activities.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference b733 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Charity Navigator - Unrated Profile for Open Source Initiative". Archived from the original on 2019-05-12.
  3. ^ "Charity Navigator - Unrated Profile for Open Source Initiative". Archived from the original on 2019-05-12.
  4. ^ "Charity Navigator - Unrated Profile for Open Source Initiative". Archived from the original on 2019-05-12.