Meanwhile, let's say a company makes billions using some piece of software that costs 10,000$ to write. You saved that company at most 10,000$, no matter how much money they will ever make. Most likely, you only saved them the license cost of the next best commercial option.
If you don't like the idea that your software could be used by someone who could profit from it without giving you anything, don't publish free software. Publish commercial software. That's the best test to see how much your software is actually worth.
Meanwhile, let's say a company makes billions using some piece of software that costs 10,000$ to write. You saved that company at most 10,000$, no matter how much money they will ever make. Most likely, you only saved them the license cost of the next best commercial option.
If you don't like the idea that your software could be used by someone who could profit from it without giving you anything, don't publish free software. Publish commercial software. That's the best test to see how much your software is actually worth.