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Panel Discussion Intermediate

OSS Health and Sustainability in 2025

Proposal status is Approved
Ansh Arora
Ansh Arora
Session Description

Objective - To understand the state of open source sustainability and community health, ways of funding FOSS, models that work (and don’t), identifying what’s critical (and underfunded) from platform and grassroot funding initiatives.

The focus of the panel is around sustainability, health and maintenance of FOSS projects. We will not heavily focus on a VC angle.

Format - Moderated roundtable + QnA

Confirmed Panelists

  • Kailash Nadh - CTO, Zerodha

  • Chad Whitacre - Head of OSS, Sentry and Founder of opensourcepledge.com

  • Neha Sankhe - COO, Frappe

Key Takeaways

  • What does sustainability mean for FOSS today?

  • What models are working - and for whom? Discussion around discoverability and funding mechanisms (thanks.dev, fundingjson.org, github sponsors etc.)

  • What is critical but invisible?

  • Where does the Govt. come in?

  • How to support projects beyond money? 

  • What role should/can platforms like Github play?

  • Lessons from the grassroots.

References

https://fossunited.org/c/indiafoss/2025/cfp/8f182j1glt
https://fossunited.org/c/indiafoss/maintainer-summit-2025
https://fundingjson.org/
https://thanks.dev/home
https://floss.fund/
https://opensourcepledge.com/
https://storyweaver.org.in/en/

Session Categories

Community
Contributing to FOSS

Which track are you applying for?

Main track

Speakers

Neha Sankhe
Neha Sankhe Chief Operating Officer | Frappe

COO @ Frappe

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nehasankhe
Kailash Nadh
Kailash Nadh CTO | Zerodha

Hobbyist developer / tinkerer

https://nadh.in
Chad Whitacre
Chad Whitacre Head of Open Source | Sentry

Chad Whitacre got his start in Open Source in 2001. He participated in the Python web development boom of the 2000s that gave rise to Django and Flask (his own contribution was Aspen). Along the way, he experienced first-hand the tension between volunteer Open Source work and paid closed source work, so he spent the 2010s as founder of a crowdfunding startup called Gittip (later Gratipay). Now here in the 2020s his role is Head of Open Source at Sentry, where he leads the Open Source Pledge and Fair Source initiatives. He is on the board of the Open Source Endowment, and has a YouTube show called Open Path.`

https://chadwhitacre.com/
Ansh Arora
Ansh Arora Program Manager | FOSS United

I manage programs and partnerships at FOSS United Foundation, a non profit organisation aimed at promoting the creation and usage of Free and Open Source Software in India.

I'm also a volunteer at FLOSS/fund, where I help out with outreach and evaluations.

https://ansharora.in