Runa Capital lists 20 top open source startups

A new report highlights the 20 fastest-growing open source startups globally, with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI). The report comes from Runa Capital, a European venture capital firm, which has been tracking these companies through the Runa Open Source Startup (ROSS) Index since 2020. This index uses GitHub “stars” to measure popularity, similar to social media likes. In 2024, AI-related projects make up 11 of the top 20 startups. The ROSS Index includes only those projects closely associated with commercial companies, ensuring they are vendor-led and not just personal projects. To qualify, these startups must be less than ten years old, have raised less than $100 million, and operate independently. In the top spot for 2024 is Ollama, which offers a tool for running large language models (LLMs) locally. Its GitHub stars increased significantly in 2024. Following Ollama, Zed Industries launched a collaborative code editor, gaining over 52,000 stars after going open source. LangGenius, third on the list, developed the Dify platform for LLM app development and saw a massive increase in stars. Other notable names include ComfyUI, which generates media using AI, and All Hands, known for its software development platform. The report also notes a strong demand for developer tools and software focused on privacy and self-hosting, with companies like Stirling PDF and Maybe Finance making the list. The report indicates that not all open source projects are equal, as the definitions of "open source" can vary. While Runa following a commercial perception, not all projects meet traditional open source standards. However, the ROSS Index remains a valuable guide for understanding trends in open source startups and their business potential.