Haiku, Inc.

What Haiku, Inc. does

Haiku, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation incorporated in New York State in 2003 (EIN: 20-0105056) that exists to support the Haiku Project, the developer community behind the open-source Haiku operating system. The organization is governed by a five-member volunteer board of directors — Axel Dörfler (President), Rene Gollent (Vice President), Ryan Leavengood (Treasurer, Boynton Beach, FL), Alexander von Gluck IV (Secretary), and Jessica Hamilton — and in 2021 hired its first paid contractor, Augustin Cavalier, to expand in-house engineering capacity.

The organization's core product is Haiku OS, a BeOS-inspired, MIT-licensed open-source desktop operating system supporting x86 and x86_64 as its primary architectures with ARM (ported 2026) and RISC-V in active development. Haiku OS ships with WebPositive (a WebKit-based native browser), the HaikuPorts package management system built on libsolv, and supporting applications including the HVIF vector icon format, Icon-O-Matic, and WonderBrush. Technical differentiation includes a hybrid kernel architecture, the proprietary HVIF icon format for compact vector icons, and recent hardware-enablement work such as AVX-512 support on Intel and AMD CPUs. The project distributes pre-built images, nightly builds, and source code freely through haiku-os.org and a global mirror network; the organization also runs the Haiku Code Drive, a Google Summer of Code-style student development program.

Haiku, Inc. has no commercial revenue model for its software — Haiku OS is free and open-source — and is funded almost entirely by tax-deductible donations accepted via GitHub Sponsors, Liberapay, PayPal, Bitcoin, Coinbase, wire transfer, and mailed checks. A small additional revenue share is generated through a merchandise partnership with Freewear, where a portion of branded-apparel sales is donated back to the organization. Operating costs are modest, dominated by infrastructure (Kubernetes cluster, block storage, VMs, and object storage totaling roughly $252 per month as of March 2025) plus occasional contractor payments and conference attendance. Distribution is community-led via mailing lists, IRC (#haiku on OFTC), the official website, and FOSS conferences such as RMLL and FOSDEM.

Name

Haiku, Inc.

Legal name

Haiku, Inc.

Website

https://haiku-inc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Haiku, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 2003 that supports the open-source Haiku OS — a BeOS-inspired desktop operating system distributed freely to individual users, developers, and BeOS enthusiasts worldwide via community-driven channels and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Boynton Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Infrastructure, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations

Revenue model

1. Donations: Haiku, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that accepts tax-deductible donations from individuals and organizations. Donations can be made via GitHub Sponsors (preferred, no fees), Liberapay (supports SEPA transfers), PayPal, Bitcoin, and Coinbase. Wire transfers and mailed checks are also accepted.
2. Merchandise Revenue Share: Partnered with Freewear to sell Haiku merchandise. A portion of all merchandise sales is donated to Haiku, Inc.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Haiku, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that supports the development and infrastructure of Haiku OS, an open-source BeOS-inspired operating system distributed free of charge under the MIT license. The organization funds development contracts, maintains infrastructure, and accepts donations to sustain the project, while the operating system itself includes native components such as the WebPositive browser, the HaikuPorts package management system, and supporting applications.

Product overview

Haiku, Inc. supports the Haiku Project, which develops Haiku OS — an open-source BeOS-inspired operating system. The core offering is Haiku OS, which includes the WebPositive web browser (built on WebKit), the Haiku Package Management System with HaikuPorts repository and Haikuporter build tools, and supporting applications like the Icon-O-Matic icon editor and WonderBrush graphics tool. The OS supports multiple architectures (x86, x86_64, ARM, RISC-V) with primary focus on x86/x86_64.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Haiku OS

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully ported to ARM architecture using QEMU emulation
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• ReactOS: Open-source operating system aiming for Windows binary compatibility; comparable grassroots volunteer-driven OS development model, though targeting a different niche (Windows API compatibility vs. BeOS philosophy).
• SerenityOS: Community-driven open-source operating system with a similar grassroots ethos and small-team development model; comparable to Haiku as an alternative hobbyist OS, though newer and without a formal non-profit structure.
• 9front: Plan 9 fork maintained by a small volunteer community; similar niche research OS positioning and small-scale volunteer-driven development ethos.
• MINIX: Small Unix-like operating system originally developed for computer science education; similar small-scale focused OS development with a niche user and academic base.
• GhostBSD: FreeBSD-derived desktop operating system focused on delivering a user-friendly Unix-like desktop experience; comparable focus on approachable open-source desktop computing with community-driven development.

Broad incumbents

• The Linux Foundation: Massive non-profit organization supporting the Linux kernel and broader open-source ecosystem; same fundamental model of a non-profit funding open-source OS development, but vastly larger in scale, scope, and corporate sponsorship.

Others

• Free Software Foundation: 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to promoting computer user freedom and supporting free software; analogous non-profit structure and mission aligned with open-source software sustainability, though not focused on a single OS project.

Direct peers

• FreeBSD Foundation: Non-profit foundation that supports the FreeBSD operating system through donations and contracts. Structurally and functionally the closest analog to Haiku, Inc. as a charitable organization funding open-source OS development.
• NetBSD Foundation: Non-profit foundation supporting the NetBSD operating system; comparable organizational structure of a charitable entity channeling donations into OS development contracts and infrastructure.
• OpenBSD Foundation: Non-profit foundation supporting the OpenBSD operating system with a similar mission of funding a Unix-like open-source OS through donations and volunteer-driven governance.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/sponsors/haiku
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/haiku-inc-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

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 Haiku, Inc.