FOSS United
FOSS United Foundation is an Indian non-profit that supports the Free and Open Source Software ecosystem through grants, flagship events (IndiaFOSS conference, FOSS Hack hackathon), student FOSS Clubs, and city chapters across nine metros.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersMumbai, India
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What FOSS United does
FOSS United Foundation is an Indian non-profit (CIN U74999MH2016NPL288653) headquartered in Mumbai that promotes and strengthens the Free and Open Source Software ecosystem in India. It was co-founded by teams at Frappe, publisher of ERPNext, and Zerodha, the Indian fintech company, and is funded through corporate sponsorships, industry partnerships, event ticket sales, and donations. The foundation operates IndiaFOSS, an annual conference drawing 1,000–1,500 attendees, and FOSS Hack, a countrywide hackathon that grew from 3,500 participants in 2024 to 5,000+ in 2025 across 10 localhosts. It runs FOSS Clubs at colleges, city chapters in nine or more metros, a grants program for Indian FOSS projects, a Diversity Scholarship program, and an OASIS coalition promoting FOSS in the social sector.
The foundation's core technology asset is the fossunited.org platform, a proprietary event management and community coordination system built on the open-source Frappe Framework (Python-based). The platform handles event registrations, talk proposals, speaker management, chapter organization, grants tracking, and community profiles, with OAuth integrations for GitHub, Google, and Frappe Cloud. Supporting infrastructure includes a self-hosted Matrix server, Discourse community forum, Razorpay payment processing, and an ICS calendar feed API plus comprehensive RSS feeds. Other products include Mon School (an open-source LMS offering programming and FOSS courses), the IndiaFOSS Conference Management App, Forklore (a contributor profiling campaign), and Maintainers May. Community governance is now exercised through a Governing Board first elected by community vote in March 2025.
FOSS United firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- FOSS United
- Legal name
- FOSS United Foundation
- Website
- https://fossunited.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- FOSS United Foundation is an Indian non-profit that supports the Free and Open Source Software ecosystem through grants, flagship events (IndiaFOSS conference, FOSS Hack hackathon), student FOSS Clubs, and city chapters across nine metros.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
FOSS United industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Open source community foundation
- NAICS
- Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)
- SIC
- Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Open Educational Resources (OER) & Curriculum Repositories (EDAFACAJ)
Keywords
Where FOSS United is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Mumbai
- HQ country
- India
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
FOSS United business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Event Sponsorships: Corporate sponsors fund IndiaFOSS and FOSS Hack events at various tiers (Platinum, Gold, Silver, Custom). IndiaFOSS 2024 raised over 27 Lakhs INR primarily from sponsorships, ticket sales, and merchandise.
- Industry Partnerships: Ongoing financial support from industry partners who sponsor the foundation throughout the year. Current industry partners include Zerodha, Frappe, and Samagata Foundation. Partners provide both financial support and co-sponsorship of grants.
- Event Tickets: Ticket sales for flagship events IndiaFOSS and FOSS Hack generate revenue. Student discounts and diversity scholarships are available.
- Donations: Voluntary donations from community members. The 'Ten Rupee FOSS Fund' initiative proposes micro-donations starting at Rs 10 per month to support FOSS projects.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Event Tickets |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
FOSS United product offering
Product offeringCore offering
FOSS United is an Indian non-profit foundation that promotes and strengthens the Free and Open Source Software ecosystem through grants to FOSS projects, flagship community events (IndiaFOSS annual conference and FOSS Hack hackathon), FOSS Clubs in colleges, city chapters, and an open community and event management platform (fossunited.org) built on the Frappe Framework.
Product overview
FOSS United is a non-profit foundation dedicated to promoting and strengthening the Free and Open Source Software ecosystem in India. The organization operates primarily through its flagship event platform and conference management system (fossunited.org), supplemented by flagship events (IndiaFOSS annual conference and FOSS Hack hackathon), community programs (FOSS Clubs, City Communities), and financial support initiatives (Grants Program). Key platforms include the Mon School LMS for educational content and the IndiaFOSS Conference Management App for event operations. The organization aims to evangelize FOSS use across different sectors, build quality FOSS for public good, and promote the spirit of hacking and tinkering.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- fossunited.org Platform A comprehensive community and event management platform built on Frappe Framework that handles event registrations, talk proposals, scheduling, speaker management, chapter organization, grants tracking, and community profiles for FOSS United's programs.
- IndiaFOSS Conference
Companies that use FOSS United
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
FOSS United technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration8 records
Feature1 record
FOSS United partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Samagata FoundationcoreSamagata Foundation serves as an industry partner and hosts the Church Street, Bengaluru localhost for FOSS Hack events at their office location.
- OpenSSFminorOpenSSF (Open Source Security Foundation) sponsored IndiaFOSS 2024 at Gold tier level. Their representative Ram Iyengar helped establish the Governing Board charter.
- Takshashila InstitutionminorPartnership to offer Technology & Policy scholarship for FOSS developers. FOSS United sponsors scholars (₹26,400 per candidate covering 80% of course fees) for the GCPP program.
- The Commit CompanyminorTeam member Jahnvi Patil from The Commit Company volunteered as FOSS Hack judge, representing community participation in governance.
- NavGurukulminorPartnership with NavGurukul (operating in 10+ cities) to conduct FOSS workshops and meetups targeting women and underrepresented groups.
- JTD FoundationminorPartnership to support diversity initiatives and expand FOSS outreach to underrepresented communities across India.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
FOSS United competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
FOSS United social profiles
Digital presenceFOSS United financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
FOSS United leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
FOSS United funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
FOSS United M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about FOSS United
What does FOSS United do?
FOSS United is an Indian non-profit foundation that promotes and strengthens the Free and Open Source Software ecosystem through grants to FOSS projects, flagship community events (IndiaFOSS annual conference and FOSS Hack hackathon), FOSS Clubs in colleges, city chapters, and an open community and event management platform (fossunited.org) built on the Frappe Framework.
Is FOSS United a public or private company?
FOSS United is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was FOSS United founded?
FOSS United was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is FOSS United based?
FOSS United is headquartered in Mumbai, India, in the Asia region.
How does FOSS United make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Event Sponsorships are the primary driver. The others are industry Partnerships, event Tickets and donations.
Does FOSS United have an API?
Yes. The FOSS United platform is built on the Frappe framework and exposes various API endpoints. Notably, there is an ICS feed API endpoint for calendar subscriptions: https://fossunited.org/api/method/fossunited.api.chapter.upcoming_events_ics which provides upcoming chapter events and open grant calls, refreshing hourly. OAuth endpoints exist for GitHub and Google login integrations. The platform also provides RSS feeds for blog posts, events, forum discussions, and grant updates. Developer documentation is at docs.fossunited.org.
What industry is FOSS United in?
FOSS United's product category is Open source community foundation. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAKAB, Community Foundations, with a secondary code of BPAGAKAK, Education Grantmaking Foundations. Its NAICS code is 813211 and its SIC code is 8600.