In a groundbreaking acquisition, IBM acquired Red Hat, a company that open-sources all of its products, for $34 billion in 2019. This changed the paradigm of open-source acquisitions, after all, this meant that IBM saw value in a purchase of software that could have been in the open to work with for this major technology player's highly qualified engineers. This begs the question: what is a company buying when they acquire a company that has a business model surrounding creating and maintaining open-source software? In this episode, we answer this question from two perspectives — what it is like to be acquired from Zach Tirrell, and what requirements the company sought from Chris Lema, who was involved in the acquisition of Zach's product. We discuss the determinants that will make an open-source software attractive for buyers, and we also discuss the human and emotional experience of selling an open-source software company.
What is The Open Source Economist?
In each episode, Christie Chirinos talks with leaders in and outside technology — including legal and government professionals, business leaders across industries like fashion, sustainability, social justice, and construction, and academia — about the open-source software powering their work. This podcast seeks to document and rigorously examine the phenomenon we all know: technology is changing fast, and we need radical collaboration to make sure we benefit current and future generations.