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by arboles 35 days ago
I'm going to sound like I live under a rock, but what is the true reason companies open-source genuinely good software?

Shouldn't Baidu (or Google) hoard it for themselves to extract the value in a way the competition isn't be able to imitate?
2 comments
SirYandi 35 days ago
Some people working in big companies believe in the ideals of open source and convince their employers to allow open sourcing a project.

Employers get prestige (useful for the hiring funnel) and sometimes strategically disrupt competitors (e.g. Meta releasing Ollama)

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jerrygenser 35 days ago
Releasing open source models can drive revenue away from them US AI LABS. This can help china win by depriving those labs of revenue for further investment in winning the long term race.
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