NLnet Foundation

What NLnet Foundation does

NLnet Foundation is a Netherlands-based, non-profit grant-making foundation headquartered in Amsterdam that has financially supported organizations and individuals contributing to an open internet since 1997, following its historical contributions to the early European internet in the 1980s. The foundation does not develop proprietary technology; instead, it funds and supports external open source, open hardware, open standards, open science, and open data projects through thematic programmes. Its operational scope spans core internet infrastructure — securing routing protocols and the domain name system, safer email, vendor-independent videoconferencing, reliable wireless networks, and private instant messaging — with all funded work based on open standards and verifiable open source software or hardware.

The foundation operates six concurrent programmes: NGI TALER (a pilot funding the GNU Taler privacy-preserving electronic payment system alongside Taler Systems SA), NGI Fediversity (a pilot funding portable, easy-to-use hosted cloud services), Restack (a fund building a healthy Open Internet Stack), CodeSupply (a scale-up programme for cybersecurity, software supply chain, and open source license compliance), ELFA (a scale-up programme for an end-to-end-encrypted, decentralized collaborative platform), and NGI Zero Review (a support-services programme providing security hardening, accessibility improvements, and licensing compliance work). Its portfolio includes visible, widely deployed projects such as Jitsi, PeerTube, WireGuard, NoScript, Tor Hidden Services, GPLv3, GNUnet, and CryptPad, and the foundation spawned the independently operating NLnet Labs for Internet infrastructure development.

Revenue derives from the foundation's own resources, public donations, and pass-through funding associated with the European Commission's Next Generation Internet initiative. Distribution to grantees occurs through open, application-based funding calls processed via the foundation's website. Outreach to the open source community is conducted through a website, Fediverse accounts, a podcast, two newsletters, RSS feeds, webinars, office hours, a Speaker Bureau, and the NGI Zero Tour Schedule. Leadership consists of General Director Bob Goudriaan, with the organization operating at a small administrative scale of 1-10 employees despite the breadth of its programmatic activity.

Name

NLnet Foundation

Legal name

NLnet Foundation

Website

https://nlnet.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Netherlands-based non-profit foundation that provides grants and support to open source, open hardware, open standards, and open data projects advancing an open internet. Operates thematic funding programmes including NGI TALER, NGI Fediversity, Restack, CodeSupply, and ELFA.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Grant-making Foundation

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Grants, Funding & Budget Allocation Platforms (FSAPAHAE)

Keywords

• Open source funding
• Grant-making foundation
• Open internet infrastructure
• Open source grants
• Internet standards funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Amsterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: NLnet Foundation provides financial grants and support services to open internet projects. Funding comes from their own resources and is distributed to qualifying projects through various thematic funds and programs including NGI TALER, NGI Fediversity, Restack, CodeSupply, and ELFA.
2. Donations: The foundation accepts financial contributions from the public to support their mission of protecting and advancing the open internet.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

NLnet Foundation is a Dutch non-profit foundation established in 1997 that financially supports organizations and individuals contributing to an open internet. It funds projects across open hardware, open software, open standards, open science, and open data through multiple thematic programmes — including NGI TALER (electronic payments), NGI Fediversity (cloud services), Restack (Open Internet Stack), CodeSupply (software supply chain), ELFA (encrypted local-first architecture), and NGI Zero Review (practical quality and compliance support services).

Product overview

NLnet Foundation is not a product company but a funding organization that has been supporting the open internet since 1997. Their portfolio consists of thematic funding programmes including NGI TALER (electronic payment systems), NGI Fediversity (cloud services portability), Restack (Open Internet Stack), CodeSupply (software supply chain), ELFA (encrypted local-first architecture), and NGI Zero Review (project support services). These programmes fund external open source projects rather than producing proprietary products. The foundation has historically supported notable projects including Jitsi, PeerTube, WireGuard, NoScript, Tor Hidden Services, GPLv3, GNUnet, and CryptPad.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NGI TALER A pilot programme funded by NLnet Foundation with the concrete objective of rolling out a new, best-in-class electronic payment system. It builds on GNU Taler, a privacy-preserving digital payment system developed by the GNU community and Taler Systems SA, and provides funding to projects building this payment system.
• NGI Fediversity A pilot programme funded by NLnet Foundation focusing on bringing easy-to-use, hosted cloud services with service portability and personal freedom at their core to everyone. It aims to provide high-quality, secure IT systems that run everywhere and scale effortlessly.
• Restack A fund that provides practical and financial support to projects contributing to an open, resilient, and trustworthy digital infrastructure, paving the way to permissionless innovation and user autonomy. Its goal is to build a healthy Open Internet Stack.
• CodeSupply A scale-up programme funded by NLnet Foundation that addresses data challenges in cybersecurity, software supply chain management, and regulatory and open source license compliance. Funding is available for FOSS efforts aligned with the programme's three main objectives.
• ELFA (Encrypted Local First Architecture) A scale-up programme funded by NLnet Foundation that aims to create a full-fledged collaborative and decentralized open platform capable of providing private workspaces and healthy social networking, including an integrated suite of collaborative apps with end-to-end encryption.
• NGI Zero Review A programme run by NLnet Foundation providing practical support to projects within the Next Generation Internet initiative to improve quality, maturity, and usability. Services include hardening security and privacy, improving accessibility, tackling open source licensing compliance issues, and related advisory support.

Named customers6 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Internet Society: Global non-profit promoting open internet development and standards. Overlaps with NLnet's open-standards and internet-infrastructure mission, though ISOC operates more as an advocacy/standards body than a grantmaker.
• Linux Foundation: Largest open-source foundation, hosting thousands of projects across networking, cloud, blockchain, and more. Comparable to NLnet as an open-source umbrella organization but operates at substantially greater scale with corporate sponsorship model.
• Eclipse Foundation: Non-profit foundation supporting open-source working groups (cloud, IoT, systems). Comparable to NLnet's role stewarding open-source projects, though Eclipse operates with corporate membership funding rather than grantmaking.

Direct peers

• Mozilla Foundation: Non-profit foundation that funds and advocates for an open, healthy internet. Directly comparable to NLnet in mission (open-internet stewardship), non-profit funding model, and multi-program grantmaking structure (Mozilla Grants, Mozilla Foundation programs).
• Apache Software Foundation: Non-profit foundation stewarding open-source projects (HTTP Server, Kafka, etc.). Comparable to NLnet as an open-source stewardship organization, though ASF operates via volunteer governance rather than grantmaking.
• Sovereign Tech Fund: German government-backed fund supporting open digital infrastructure and critical open-source projects. Functionally similar to NLnet — both are non-profit/programmatic funders of foundational open-internet and open-source technology.
• Electronic Frontier Foundation: Non-profit defending civil liberties in the digital world. Comparable to NLnet through shared mission of protecting an open, private internet; EFF combines advocacy, litigation, and funding for privacy/security tools.
• Open Technology Fund: U.S.-funded non-profit that provides grants to internet-freedom projects (circumvention, privacy, security). Closely comparable to NLnet's NGI/Restack portfolio in funding open-internet infrastructure tools.
• Free Software Foundation: Non-profit that funds and advocates for free software, supporting projects through grants and fellowships. Highly comparable to NLnet's open-source/open-standards funding mission and non-profit structure.
• Open Source Initiative: Non-profit organization advocating for open-source software and maintaining the OSI definition. Comparable to NLnet as an open-source advocacy body; smaller in scope and focused on standards/definitions rather than grantmaking.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubepodcast.nlnet.nl/@NGIZero
• Xx.com/nlnetfdn

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments1 record

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

Frequently asked questions about NLnet Foundation