Open Web Docs
Open Web Docs is an independent open-source collective that maintains MDN Web Docs and the browser-compat-data repository, employing a small team of technical writers funded by tiered corporate sponsorships (Google, Microsoft Platinum) and grants to serve web developers and browser vendors globally.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- Headquarters—
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Open Web Docs does
Open Web Docs (OWD) is an independent open-source collective, publicly launched on January 25, 2021, that employs a small team of technical writers and contractors to maintain and improve web platform documentation. Its core work consists of contributions to the mdn/content repository (MDN Web Docs, which reaches approximately 17 million developers monthly) and mdn/browser-compat-data (BCD), the machine-readable dataset powering compatibility tables on MDN, CanIUse, VS Code, Firefox DevTools, and the Baseline project. OWD authored 10% of merged PRs to mdn/content and 27.2% of merged PRs to BCD in 2025, and operates the mdn-bcd-collector tool with 90.15% coverage of browser features. Additional products include the web-platform-dx/web-features catalog, a Web Security documentation module, a CSS module reference set (65 guides), and Progressive Web App documentation.
OWD is structured as an Open Source Collective (fiscally sponsored) and is governed by a Governing Committee comprising Platinum-sponsor representatives (Google, Microsoft), elected Gold-tier representatives (Igalia), and the OWD Director. Revenue derives from tiered corporate sponsorships (Platinum $250k/year, Gold $25k-$125k by company size, Silver $5k-$20k), individual donations via Open Collective and GitHub Sponsors, and grants (notably 520,000 EUR cumulative from Germany's Sovereign Tech Fund since 2023). FY2025 total fundraising was $662,000 USD against $664,000 in payroll. OWD employs 2-5 full-time technical writers plus contractors, working remotely across global locations including San Francisco and Bremen, Germany, and chairs the W3C Documentation Community Group launched in April 2025.
Open Web Docs firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Open Web Docs
- Legal name
- Open Web Docs
- Website
- https://openwebdocs.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Open Web Docs is an independent open-source collective that maintains MDN Web Docs and the browser-compat-data repository, employing a small team of technical writers funded by tiered corporate sponsorships (Google, Microsoft Platinum) and grants to serve web developers and browser vendors globally.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Open Web Docs industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Developer Documentation Services
- NAICS
- Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (519), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192), Libraries and Archives (51921)
- SIC
- Miscellaneous Publishing (2741), Services-Educational Services (8200), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- OER Repositories, Discovery & Metadata Services (EDAGAJAL)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Open Educational Resources (OER) & Curriculum Repositories (EDAFACAJ), Open Educational Resources (OER) & Open Access Academic Publishing (MPAJABAG), OER Authoring, Remixing & Publishing Tools/Platforms (EDAGAJAM)
Keywords
Open Web Docs business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Corporate Sponsorships: Tiered membership sponsorships from organizations including Platinum ($250k/year), Gold (tiered $25k-$125k), and Silver (tiered $5k-$20k). Platinum sponsors include Google and Microsoft. Gold sponsors include Igalia. Silver sponsors include Canva and Bloomberg.
- Individual Donations: Recurring monthly donations of $10+ (supporters) and $5+ (backers), plus one-time donations via Open Collective and GitHub Sponsors.
- Grants: Sovereign Tech Fund invested 220,000 EUR total in OWD for web security documentation projects. Also received $20,000 from Google Security team for web security docs project. Google contracted OWD for $90,000 for web-features mapping work.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Platinum Sponsorship - $250,000 annually |
| Subscription | Annual | Gold Sponsorship - $25,000 to $125,000 annually |
| Subscription | Annual | Silver Sponsorship - $5,000 to $20,000 annually |
| Subscription | Monthly | Individual Supporters - $10+ per month |
| Subscription | Monthly | Individual Backers - $5+ per month |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels9 records
Open Web Docs product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Open Web Docs employs technical writers and engineers to author, maintain, and improve web platform documentation, primarily contributing to MDN Web Docs and the browser compatibility data (BCD) ecosystem. The collective funds its work through corporate sponsorships, grants, and individual donations, and produces output that reaches roughly 17 million web developers each month via MDN and downstream developer tools. Its deliverables include reference content, machine-readable compatibility data, automation tooling, and dedicated documentation modules for CSS, Web Security, and Progressive Web Apps.
Product overview
Open Web Docs is an open source collective that employs technical writers to publicly document open web technologies. The organization does not offer a traditional SaaS product but rather provides documentation services through maintaining and improving essential web platform documentation projects including MDN Web Docs (the core platform), the Browser Compatibility Data (BCD) project for machine-readable browser support data, the mdn-bcd-collector automation tool for collecting compatibility data, the web-features catalog project, and specialized documentation modules covering CSS, Web Security, Progressive Web Apps, and other web platform technologies. The work is funded by corporate and individual donations through Open Collective.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- MDN Web Docs Maintenance
- Browser Compatibility Data (BCD)
- mdn-bcd-collector
- web-platform-dx/web-features
- Web Security Documentation Module
- CSS Module Reference Documentation
Quantifiable outcome
- 10.0% of all MDN content PRs authored by OWD in 2025
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Open Web Docs
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Open Web Docs technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Open Web Docs partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered owd chairs this w3c community group focused on web platform documentation. mission: ensure web developers worldwide have the best information available., owd participates in w3c security web application guidelines cg focused on increasing overall security of web application development., owd participates in w3c web developer experience cg focused on improving web platform developer experience and baseline definition., represents samsung internet on steering committee, contributes to web platform documentation priorities., represents apple on steering committee, contributes to web platform documentation priorities., core partner - mozilla hosts mdn web docs infrastructure and collaborates with owd on content roadmap and maintenance. and core partner - w3c provides specification data integration, participates in steering committee, and collaborates on standards documentation..
- W3C Documentation Community Groupowd chairs this w3c community group focused on web platform documentation. mission: ensure web developers worldwide have the best information available.
- W3C SWAG CGowd participates in w3c security web application guidelines cg focused on increasing overall security of web application development.
- W3C WebDX CGowd participates in w3c web developer experience cg focused on improving web platform developer experience and baseline definition.
- Samsung Internetrepresents samsung internet on steering committee, contributes to web platform documentation priorities.
- Applerepresents apple on steering committee, contributes to web platform documentation priorities.
- Mozillacore partner - mozilla hosts mdn web docs infrastructure and collaborates with owd on content roadmap and maintenance.
- W3Ccore partner - w3c provides specification data integration, participates in steering committee, and collaborates on standards documentation.
Scale indicators12 records
Recent moves12 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Open Web Docs competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Igalia: Igalia is a Gold sponsor of OWD and an open-source consultancy that performs free-software work on web standards and browser engines. Both organizations fill gaps in open web infrastructure that individual vendors cannot sustain alone.
- W3C (World Wide Web Consortium): W3C is the principal web standards body and OWD's core strategic partner; both serve the web developer ecosystem with vendor-neutral infrastructure. W3C sets standards that OWD then documents, and they collaborate on integrating specification data into MDN.
- Mozilla: Mozilla hosts and operates MDN Web Docs, the primary platform OWD contributes to. Both organizations share the mission of open web platform documentation and operate as non-profit, community-driven entities serving web developers globally.
Broad incumbents
- Rust Foundation: The Rust Foundation is a non-profit that supports the Rust programming language ecosystem through corporate membership and grants. Its mix of Platinum-tier corporate sponsors and individual community support mirrors OWD's funding structure.
- Apache Software Foundation: Apache Software Foundation is a major non-profit that provides governance, legal, and financial infrastructure for open-source software projects. Its volunteer-driven, cooperative funding model parallels OWD's operational approach.
- OpenJS Foundation: OpenJS Foundation supports critical JavaScript and web ecosystem projects (Node.js, jQuery, Webpack) through corporate sponsorship and governance. It is comparable to OWD as a sustainability-focused entity for open web infrastructure.
- The Linux Foundation: The Linux Foundation is a large-scale non-profit that sustains open-source digital infrastructure through corporate sponsorship and fiscal sponsorship models. OWD's cooperative funding model mirrors the Linux Foundation's approach to supporting shared open infrastructure.
- Software Freedom Conservancy: Software Freedom Conservancy is a fiscal sponsor and advocate for open-source software projects, providing non-profit infrastructure and legal support. It is broadly comparable to OWD's mission of sustaining open digital infrastructure through cooperative funding.
- NumFOCUS: NumFOCUS is a non-profit that sustains open-source scientific computing projects through fiscal sponsorship and corporate sponsorship. It is comparable to OWD as a cooperative funding model for open-source infrastructure that benefits a broad developer community.
Emerging players
- Read the Docs: Read the Docs is an open-source documentation hosting platform used by thousands of open-source projects. While OWD authors documentation and Read the Docs hosts it, both serve the same developer audience and operate as community-built documentation infrastructure.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Open Web Docs social profiles
Digital presenceOpen Web Docs financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Open Web Docs leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Open Web Docs funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Open Web Docs 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 Open Web Docs
What does Open Web Docs do?
Open Web Docs employs technical writers and engineers to author, maintain, and improve web platform documentation, primarily contributing to MDN Web Docs and the browser compatibility data (BCD) ecosystem. The collective funds its work through corporate sponsorships, grants, and individual donations, and produces output that reaches roughly 17 million web developers each month via MDN and downstream developer tools. Its deliverables include reference content, machine-readable compatibility data, automation tooling, and dedicated documentation modules for CSS, Web Security, and Progressive Web Apps.
Is Open Web Docs a public or private company?
Open Web Docs is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Open Web Docs founded?
Open Web Docs was founded in 2021. It employs 1 to 10 people.
How does Open Web Docs make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Corporate Sponsorships are the primary driver. The others are individual Donations and grants.
Who are Open Web Docs's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Igalia, W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) and Mozilla. Broad incumbents are Rust Foundation, Apache Software Foundation, OpenJS Foundation, The Linux Foundation, Software Freedom Conservancy and NumFOCUS. Read the Docs is listed as an emerging player.
Does Open Web Docs have an API?
No public API is recorded for Open Web Docs.
What industry is Open Web Docs in?
Open Web Docs's product category is Developer Documentation Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAGAJAL, OER Repositories, Discovery & Metadata Services, with a secondary code of EDAFACAJ, Open Educational Resources (OER) & Curriculum Repositories. Its NAICS code is 519 and its SIC code is 2741.