Everyone’s talking about generative AI. But what is no one talking about? Managing all the open source obligations that come with genAI.
Mixing proprietary code with open source code is like playing Russian Roulette with your business’s future – unless you understand the open source risks, and are managing them appropriately.
Open source is free, but not free from restrictions. That’s because open source software is still owned by someone, and is protected by copyright – sometimes even patents. That’s why there’s an open source license.
You must follow the requirements of the open source license. That is how you “pay” for the permission to use the software or model.
You may have heard the names: Apache, MIT, GPL and others. These are standardized license formats with legal terms that must be followed. The specific license for a library or model is chosen by the creator at the time of releasing it as open source.
And there are significant differences among open source licenses. It’s essential to understand the differences, so you can select code and models with license requirements that align with your business goals.
Who will ever know if you’re not doing this? Investors and acquirers, for one. Your approach to managing open source demonstrates the maturity of your startup.
This does matter. And it’s not hard to do. Get started with this cheatsheet.
