Sovereign Tech Fund
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The Sovereign Tech Fund is a funding program from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action aimed at providing financial support to open-source software. The initial funds were allocated by the Bundestag in May 2022.[1][2]
Purpose of funding[edit]
According to the Federal budget of Germany plan, the program aims to promote and secure open-source foundational technologies.[3] It intends to make the open-source ecosystem more resilient against external attacks, thereby enhancing cybersecurity and resilience across the German economy. This initiative fulfills a demand from the coalition government.[4]
The funding is described as time-limited and targeted at specific challenges or security vulnerabilities.[5][6]
Scope and organization[edit]
In 2022, the program had a budget of 13 million Euros,[7] which increased to approximately 22 million euros in 2023 and is expected to reach up to 16 million euros in 2024. The program is initially attached to the Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovations and is led by Adriana Groh and Fiona Krakenbürger.
Both founders had worked for similar organizations. Adriana Groh had experience from the Open Knowledge Foundation's Prototype Fund.[8] Fiona Krakenbürger had previously worked at the Open Technology Fund.[9][10]
Supported projects[edit]
As of July 2023, the following projects received funding (amounts in parentheses):[7][11]
- cURL: 97,500 Euro
- Drupal: 250,00 Euros[12]
- Fortran Package Manager:[13] 182,930 Euro
- Gnome 1 million Euros [14][15][16]
- GopenPGP/OpenPGP.js: 176,955.16 Euro
- OpenBGPd: 111,000 Euro
- OpenBLAS: 52,600 Euro
- Investment in JavaScript, via OpenJS: 874,940 Euro [17][18][19]
- OpenMLS: 190,000 Euro
- OpenSSH: 200,000 Euro[20]
- Prossimo: 143,672.90 Euro
- PHP: 205,000 Euro [21][22]
- RubyGems: 195,000 Euro
- Sequoia-PGP: 200,000 Euro
- WireGuard: 188,100 Euro
- Yocto Project: 759,000 Euro [23][24]
References[edit]
- ^ "51 Millionen Euro für Open Source und digitale Souveränität". Embedded Software Engineering (in German). 20 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- ^ "Germany to launch sovereign tech fund to secure digital infrastructure". Science|Business. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- ^ Bundeshaushaltsplan 2023, Einzelplan 09, Federal Budget Plan 2023, Single Plan 09, Chapter 09 01 – Title 685 03.
- ^ "51 Millionen Euro für Open Source und digitale Souveränität". 22 May 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
- ^ Response from State Secretary Udo Philipp, October 26, 2022, to a written question from Member of Parliament Dr. Petra Sitte (THE LEFT), Parliamentary Paper 20/4209, p. 19., Bundestags-Drucksache 20/4209, S. 19.
- ^ "The Open Source Way - Sovereign Tech Fund – Investing in the Future Today". podcast.opensap.info. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
- ^ a b Inga Pöting (30 December 2022). "Steuermillionen für Hobbyprojekte". Zeit Online (Ohne Freiwillige würden weder unser Navi noch unser Smartphone laufen. Der Staat unterstützt sie nun über den Sovereign Tech Fund mit Geld. Reicht das?). Zeit Online GmbH. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
- ^ "How to innovate? Prototype everything!". Open Knowledge Foundation Blog. 19 December 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
- ^ "Sovereign Tech Fund". Bundesagentur für Sprunginnovationen. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- ^ "Episode 368 – The Sovereign Tech Fund with Fiona Krakenbürger". Open Source Security. 27 March 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
- ^ Niklas Dierking (14 November 2022). "Freie Software: Bund fördert Open Source" (Große Teile der Infrastruktur im Netz hängen von Open-Source-Projekten ab. Mit dem Sovereign Tech Fund möchte der Bund diese fördern.). Retrieved 24 December 2022.
- ^ "Drupal Association secures $300,000 in funding from Sovereign Tech Fund". Drupal.org. 11 January 2024. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- ^ "Fortran". Sovereign Tech Fund. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- ^ "GNOME". Sovereign Tech Fund. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- ^ "GNOME Recognized as Public Interest Infrastructure – The GNOME Foundation". Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- ^ "For Drupal to Remain Well and Alive: An Exclusive Conversation with Tim Doyle". The Drop Times. 2 April 2024.
- ^ "OpenJS Foundation". Sovereign Tech Fund. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- ^ Foundation, OpenJS. "Sovereign Tech Fund". OpenJS Foundation. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- ^ "OpenJS Foundation Receives Major Government Investment from Sovereign Tech Fund for Web Security and Stability". www.linuxfoundation.org. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- ^ "OpenSSH". Sovereign Tech Fund. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- ^ "PHP". Sovereign Tech Fund. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- ^ "Sovereign Tech Fund Makes New Investments Into GNOME & PHP, Bug Bounty For systemd". www.phoronix.com. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- ^ "The Yocto Project". Sovereign Tech Fund. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- ^ Knight, Megan (10 October 2023). "Sovereign Tech Fund Boosts Yocto Project". The Yocto Project. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
External links[edit]
- sovereigntechfund.de – Official Website
- Mastodon @sovtechfund