Zerodha Launches New Fund To Support Open-Source Projects

Fintech unicorn Zerodha has launched a new fund to support Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FOSS) projects globally. 

The fund, named FLOSS/fund, is intended to help open-source projects that often face challenges in financial sustainability, despite their widespread use. It will provide an annual funding of $1 Mn.

With the fund, Zerodha aims to provide financial assistance to open-source initiatives, which it said played an important role in its growth. 

According to Zerodha’s Chief Technology Officer, much of the startup’s tech infrastructure – from programming languages to databases – relies on open-source tools. “Without high-quality FOSS projects, we wouldn’t exist as we do today,” he said in a blog.

It is pertinent to note that Zerodha also has a venture capital arm Rainmatter. Launched in 2016, the firm has invested in over 100 startups, including 31 fintech firms, 28 climate tech startups, and 21 in the health and nutrition sector.

Besides, Zerodha founders Nikhil and Nithin Kamath are active angel investors. Nikhil Kamath also cofounded Gruhas, along with Abhijeet Pai. 

Meanwhile, Zerodha recently reported a 61% increase in its consolidated profit after tax (PAT) to INR 4,700 Cr for the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 2,909 Cr in the previous year, driven by strong business growth.

The bootstrapped startup posted revenue of INR 8,320 Cr for the year, a 21% rise from INR 6,875 Cr reported in FY23. 

It is pertinent to note that the brokerage firm has decided to keep its equity delivery on the platform free, even as SEBI’s flat free structure came into effect on October 1. 

Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) new derivatives framework is expected to result in a decline of about 30% in the number of trades on the platform.

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