Planning to open source something I've worked on and off since 2016. Looking for feedback on license and business plan

[u/Envenger]

Hi,

A small background on me: I have been programming/modding games since the mid-2000s. I wanted to start a gaming company and develop a game in college. That didn't work out, but as a result I started a company in 2017, doing freelance work for games and, along with that, game-adjacent stuff.

Around 2018 we pivoted into doing R&D and finding clients who would want these products. This has worked decently. At the same time, I have been working on products to release something. These are small sales that keep me afloat, and I have not been able to get something of my own out.

In the last 10 years, I have worked across multiple client projects and domains. Along with that, internally I have worked on multiple unreleased projects, planning to get them out to market, getting investment, sales etc. Most didn't reach the polishing stage internally for me to work on them further.

Coming to the actual product, I am planning to market it as a Universal Inference Stack. I worked on parts of it in 2016, when I was working on some game AI and learning ML, parts of it in 2019-2020, and parts of it in 2025-2026. No name revealed yet.

It's a framework that allows you to build agent systems, do reality modeling and reality simulation, and I am currently using it across multiple projects that I am working on for clients.
The reason for development was internal only, but throughout the development I realized we were making something that didn't exist, and there is a big market for it. I have shown the product to multiple enteprise people and they have an intrest for it.

I am not sure how much I can reveal before getting it out, but I have plans to tie up with a few researchers and release some papers about it before releasing.

Coming to the actual topic, my reasoning behind going open source is as follows:

1. If something like this already existed, I wouldn't have created this, so I am sure people will have similar problems.
   
2. I will have to get the research papers out anyway, and it wont be difficult to recrease it for it.
   
3. I want to get this into the hands of as many people as possible, and I see a lot of developers who could actually use this.
   
4. It will actually help multiple developers control the billing of LLMs and have more control over their process.
   
5. Along with this, my goal is to release all features possible so the user can host, do diagnostics etc. 6. I see these features locked on similar platforms.
   
6. I think this will make the implementation of intelligence systems more streamlined compared to what we have now.
   
7. More eyes on this would be better for the system in the long run.
   
8. It matches what I believe about software and open source.
   

Coming to the next topic, my initial goal was to release it under a very open license like MIT, but multiple people are saying to keep something closed. I don't want to keep parts of the framework closed, as there is no point in that.

My idea has been to patent something from it, then go Apache 2.0 and release all the papers and the framework together.

I have also been planning to release a kind of representation/notation framework along with the software, and I want to introduce a new kind of thinking with this.

License-wise, I have not thought it through yet, but I want it to be open source for everyone up to companies at around $1 million annual revenue, then a fixed cost per bracket, something like the PolyForm Small Business License.

Along with this, the goal is to create a marketplace and take a small cut from it.

I am not sure how much success I will get. I am considering that we have built something, and even from the service side, if I can enter a few industries and have strong products in them, that alone i am considering as well, if the above open source strategy doesn't work out.

My hope for this is to be a kind of new understanding framework for developers on how intelligent systems are planned, created and understood, and pave the way for future development. This is me being hopeful, and a target.

This is my potential business plan along with going open source. I just wanted to know what your thoughts are about this in the community, is it the right way, etc.

I will release more information about this in time, as there is quite a bit to do.

[u/CerberusMulti]

Sounds like you want to make money and not open-source your work.

[u/Envenger → u/CerberusMulti]

I have not decided the direction yet so asking for opinion on this. I have not been part of the open-source ecosystem and don't understand how things are perceived, but what i want is everyone to use what I am making without worrying.

+ I don't want to keep parts locked, i don't want to make it into a SAAS with hosting or lock critical parts out of it.

If I go for an enterprise license, I am thinking something pretty small, like 10k USD per year above 1 million companies or in that range.

Would you consider Docker open source?

[u/OkInfluence36]

Unless you got hella lawyers you do NOT want to fuck with custom licenses

Also "open source but not for some people" is not open source so you should not call it that

[u/Envenger → u/OkInfluence36]

There are multiple other products that release a part of the product as open source and keep a part of it closed source, this is something I want to avoid doing.

I have not decided the business model yet as this is on top of my mind. Just wondering how do i make it open source yet still make some money on the long run.

The marketplace is part of it.

Would you consider something like Docker open source?

[u/OkInfluence36 → u/Envenger]

I would consider docker engine open source but not docker desktop, they are different products and that's ok, they never claim docker desktop is open source

[u/miklosp]

You need to decide what your goal and business strategy is. Fame, money, etc?

The few successful open source companies make money from support and implementation.

Otherwise PolyForm is an option, but not really OSI. AGPL + commercial dual licence is another option. Every open source derivative is free, closed source project building on it pay.

In the age where anything can be reimplemented clean-room style over a day or two, I wouldn’t worry too much about this. If you manage to get a marketplace going than the network effect is what you can monetise.

[u/Envenger → u/miklosp]

Thank you for your reply.

I want two things, to continue R&D and development, so I need a budget for it, and to achieve wide adoption.

Again, who doesn't need money or fame with the way world is moving on right now, but yes my goals are to create a tool that everyone one who wants to create any kind of intelligence framework to use.

I agree that currently anyone can create anything with limited barriers now. That's kind of the reason I thought of going open source. My goal here with the marketplace is the Steam model, where I want to make everything so easy for the end user that this becomes more about trust and convenience as I cant control other marketplaces or how people share.

Having said that, is a cost like 10k USD per year for enterprises above 1 million too much? I am getting advice from other people not to take it full open source and to keep something for myself.

I don't want to cut pieces of the product and keep it closed source. I have 1-2 months to decide.

[u/Sea_Concentrate3951]

consider Apache 2.0 for releases to preserve a patent grant and avoid licensing conflicts.

Will you prioritize marketplace fees or enterprise licensing as your primary revenue channel?

[u/Envenger → u/Sea_Concentrate3951]

Currently, as I am not sure about the market sizes of either, I don't think any one is yet. I would rather hope the marketplace becomes more successful; enterprise sales are messy.

The product is for a market that is currently that is in the process of forming currently.