What Squeak does

Squeak is a community-driven, open-source Smalltalk programming system and development environment originally established in 1996 and currently maintained under MIT license from Bowling Green, USA. The core platform consists of the Squeak image, the Morphic UI framework for graphical and interactive application development, and the OpenSmalltalk virtual machine (featuring meta-tracing JIT, stack-to-register mapping, and aggressive inline message caching) supporting macOS, Windows (x64 and ARMv8), and Linux (x64 and ARMv8) in 32-bit and 64-bit builds. The surrounding ecosystem includes SqueakMap (a package catalog with 821+ entries), Monticello and SqueakSource3 for source code management, Squot for Git integration, and SUnit for testing, alongside documentation via the Squeak by Example book series.

The system's defining technical property is full introspection: the compiler, debugger, and tools are themselves Smalltalk code that users can read and modify. Notable downstream projects built on Squeak include Scratch and ScratchJr (MIT Media Lab), Snap! (UC Berkeley), Etoys, NuScratch (Raspberry Pi), Croquet, and Babelsberg/S for constraint programming, with the project serving developers, educational institutions, and researchers across education, multimedia, gaming, and academic domains.

Squeak has no commercial revenue model. Distribution is entirely self-serve via free downloads from squeak.org and files.squeak.org, with development coordinated by the Squeak Oversight Board, mailing lists, a bug tracker, the Squeak Wiki, and The Weekly Squeak blog. The project accepts donations to cover infrastructure costs and operates a merchandise shop, but generates no enterprise contracts, licensing fees, or paid tiers. Governance is volunteer-based with no disclosed venture capital, private equity, or corporate parent ownership.

Name

Squeak

Legal name

Squeak Project

Website

https://squeak.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Squeak is a free, open-source Smalltalk programming system and Morphic-based development environment maintained by a volunteer community since 1996, serving developers, educators, and researchers with cross-platform VMs and a 821+ package ecosystem.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Bowling Green

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Free and Open Source: Squeak is a free, open-source software project released under the MIT license. There is no commercial revenue model - the project is maintained by a volunteer community. The website mentions donations to help keep infrastructure running (website, mailing lists, code repositories).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Squeak is a modern, open-source Smalltalk programming system that provides a complete development environment in which the compiler, debugger, and tools are themselves Smalltalk code that users can read and modify. It includes the Morphic UI framework for low-effort graphical, interactive application development, and ships with fast execution environments (the OpenSmalltalk VM) for macOS, Windows (x64 and ARMv8), and Linux (x64 and ARMv8). The project is released under the MIT license and is maintained by a community coordinated through the Squeak Oversight Board.

Product overview

Squeak is a modern, open-source Smalltalk programming system and development environment. The core product consists of the Squeak programming environment with the Morphic UI framework, supported by the OpenSmalltalk virtual machine. The ecosystem includes SqueakMap (a package catalog with 821+ packages), Monticello (source code management), and SqueakSource3 (code repository hosting). Notable projects built on Squeak include Etoys (educational media authoring), NuScratch (Scratch for Raspberry Pi), Croquet (3D collaborative environment), Babelsberg/S (constraint programming), and Scratch/Snap! (visual programming languages). Development tools include Squot for Git integration, SUnit for testing, and Scamper web browser. Documentation is provided via Squeak by Example books in multiple editions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Squeak/Smalltalk: The primary brand name used on the official website
• OpenSmalltalk

Products and services

• Squeak Programming Environment Modern, open-source Smalltalk programming system with fast execution environments for macOS, Windows (x64 and ARMv8), and Linux (x64 and ARMv8). Provides a self-hosted environment whose compiler, debugger, and tools are themselves Smalltalk code, intended for application development across education, multimedia, gaming, research, and commerce.
• OpenSmalltalk VM Fast virtual machine supporting Squeak and other Smalltalk family languages, featuring meta-tracing JIT compilation, stack-to-register mapping, and aggressive inline message caching. Distributed as part of Squeak bundles and separately on GitHub.
• SqueakMap Catalog of installable code packages for Squeak, serving as the standard way to register and discover applications. Contained 821 packages and 1031 registered accounts as of the latest data.
• SqueakSource3 Monticello-based code repository hosting many Squeak community projects.
• Scratch Graphical building-block programming environment originally built on Squeak at the MIT Media Lab, targeted at children for learning programming concepts and used by millions of youth worldwide.
• ScratchJr Version of Scratch for children aged 5 to 7, available for iPad and Android tablets.
• Snap! Visual, drag-and-drop programming language developed at UC Berkeley based on Scratch, extended with first-class lists, procedures, and continuations for serious computer science education.
• NuScratch Modernized, faster version of Scratch 1.4 optimized for the Raspberry Pi, achieving approximately 20x speedup and making programming accessible on affordable hardware.
• Etoys Media-rich authoring environment with a simple, powerful scripted object model for end-users, running on many platforms and used for educational multimedia projects.
• Croquet Collaborative, live-programming, audio-visual 3D environment for developing interactive shared worlds, built on Squeak.
• Babelsberg/S Implementation of Babelsberg that allows constraint-based programming in Smalltalk.
• Scamper Simple web browser running within Squeak, supporting HTML, links, lists, and basic formatting.
• Celeste Mail reading and organizing program included in the standard Squeak image.

Quantifiable outcome

• NuScratch achieved approximately 20x speedup on Raspberry Pi through optimizations
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Pharo: Pharo is an open-source Smalltalk fork from Squeak with an active community focused on modernizing the language and tooling. Most directly comparable peer — same Smalltalk lineage, similar live-programming environment, similar open-source governance model.
• Cincom Smalltalk: Cincom Smalltalk (including VisualWorks) is the leading commercial Smalltalk implementation, offering ObjectStudio and VisualWorks IDEs. Comparable as a Smalltalk platform serving enterprise and commercial developers, though it operates on a paid-license model rather than open source.
• GNU Smalltalk: GNU Smalltalk is a free Smalltalk implementation maintained by the GNU project. Comparable as an open-source Smalltalk runtime, but with a smaller ecosystem and less active community than Squeak.

Emerging players

• Scratch Foundation: Scratch is the dominant block-based programming language for children, originally built on Squeak. Although Scratch 3.0 moved to JavaScript, the Scratch ecosystem is the largest downstream consumer of Squeak technology and the most visible educational programming platform globally.
• Snap! (Berkeley): Snap! is a visual block-based programming language at UC Berkeley, derived from Scratch and indirectly from Squeak. It extends Scratch with first-class procedures, lists, and continuations for serious CS education. Comparable as an educational programming environment with shared Smalltalk DNA.
• Processing Foundation: Processing is an open-source programming language and IDE designed for visual arts and multimedia, with a Java-based core and a beginner-friendly environment. Comparable to Squeak's Morphic and Etoys in the educational multimedia and creative-coding space.
• Etoys (Squeakland): Etoys is a Squeak-based media authoring environment for children originally developed by Alan Kay's Viewpoints Research. Comparable as a downstream educational product of Squeak, focused on scripted object modeling and exploratory learning.
• Dolphin Smalltalk: Dolphin Smalltalk is a Windows-only commercial Smalltalk IDE focused on rapid application development. Comparable as a Smalltalk IDE peer, though narrower in platform reach and ecosystem scale than Squeak.

Others

• Logo Foundation: Logo is the pioneering educational programming language developed at MIT, predating Squeak. Comparable as a foundational educational programming language and design philosophy antecedent; both were influenced by Seymour Papert's constructionist learning ideas and shaped K-12 computing education.
• Newspeak (language): Newspeak is a modern Smalltalk-influenced programming language by Gilad Bracha designed for secure, modular applications. Comparable as a Smalltalk-descendant language exploring live programming and capability-based security, with overlapping research community and design philosophy.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/OpenSmalltalk/opensmalltalk-vm
• Xx.com/squeaksmalltalk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/98736

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Squeak