[jimsmart]

This comment explains the reason for its existence quite well:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43605846

Companies fund things because they're useful or necessary. My guess is that some of the companies listed might use BSD — and perhaps wanted/needed an implementation of rsync that was not GPL3 licensed.

And/or they simply have an interest in funding Open Source projects / development.

[Squossifrage]

Three out of four aren't even companies. SUNET is the Swedish NREN, NetNod is a non-profit that manages Internet infrastructure services (like DNS and NTP) in Sweden, IIS is the non-profit that manages the Swedish TLDs.

[jimsmart]

Feel free to substitute my use of the word "company", with "company / organisation / foundation". Plus others I'm surely forgetting.

I meant 'company' in the sense of a legal entity, probably paying some kind of tax, probably having to register/file their accounts every year. Here in the UK, all of these various different types of 'companies' all have to register with Companies House, and file tax returns to HMRC. 'Company' is the overarching legal term here.

— But sure, my bad: the post I was replying to actually used a term that is arguably better, 'organisations'. And I should have used that.

But my point still stands, whether a private limited company, or a non-profit of some kind, or an organisation, or a foundation, or a charity, or whatever — they're all legal entities of some kind — and they're all able to fund anything they please, if they see value in it.

- NetNod is actually a private limited company according to Wikipedia [1]. Corporate identity number: 556534-0014.

- Swedish Internet Foundation, formerly IIS, have corporate identity number: 802405-0190 (on their website [2])

- Sunet is a department of the Swedish Research Council, and uses the Swedish Research Council’s corporate identity number 2021005208, according to their website [3]

So they are all registered with the Swedish Companies Registration Office. Which I assume is their equivalent of Companies House here in the UK.

Maybe if you still think that they're not 'companies' — of some kind — then perhaps take it up with the Swedish Companies Registration Office! ;)

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netnod

[2] https://internetstiftelsen.se/en/

[3] https://www.sunet.se/en/contact