Hello,
Why do companies create open source models? They must allocate lots of resources toward this, but for what profit? If anything, doesn't it just take users off of using their paid for/proprietary models?
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Why do companies build open source models?
Reddit r/LocalLLaMA / 4/9/2026
💬 OpinionIdeas & Deep AnalysisIndustry & Market Moves
Key Points
- The post questions the business rationale behind companies investing resources to create open source AI models instead of focusing solely on monetizing proprietary offerings.
- It highlights a potential concern that open source releases could draw users away from paid, closed models, reducing direct revenue.
- The underlying discussion points to the need to understand incentives such as ecosystem growth, reputational benefits, community contributions, and long-term platform strategy.
- It frames open sourcing as a strategic decision whose “profit” may be indirect (e.g., adoption, partnerships, tooling, or services) rather than from model licensing alone.
submitted by /u/Excellent_Koala769
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