The new structure ensures long-term support for critical open-source projects while aligning profit with purpose.
Quansight, a leader in open-source scientific computing and data science, today announced its formal transition from a Limited Liability Company (LLC) to a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC). This legal and structural shift reinforces Quansight’s mission to make open-source software (OSS) accessible, sustainable, and community-driven, ensuring that the tools and infrastructure powering global innovation are robust, secure, and accessible.
Building on the foundations established at Quansight’s not-for-profit Labs division, Quansight PBC will deepen collaboration with companies, governments, and all organizations to sustain OSS infrastructure and tools, particularly in scientific computing and data science.
“Transitioning to a Public Benefit Corporation is a natural evolution of our mission at Quansight. For years, we’ve worked to bridge the gap between open-source communities and the organizations that rely on them. This new structure formalizes our commitment to aligning business success with the long-term sustainability of open-source infrastructure. It ensures that our decisions prioritize the health of the ecosystem, the well-being of maintainers, and the needs of the broader community.” Ralf Gommers, Quansight PBC CEO, Technology, SciPy/NumPy Maintainer, Array API Standard Creator
A New Chapter: Profit with Purpose
By becoming a PBC, we have codified our mission into our charter: “To work with companies, governments, and organizations of all kinds to support making open source software and infrastructure accessible, sustainable, and community-driven to advance discovery and innovation.” As such, our corporate decisions must align with that mission and balance the interests of our primary stakeholders: community members, customers, employees, and shareholders.
As a PBC, Quansight commits to:
- Prioritizing public benefit alongside financial returns, as highlighted in its charter.
- Scaling support for OSS maintainers, projects, and communities.
- Collaborating with industry leaders to ensure corporate reliance on OSS translates into sustainable backing.
- Continue championing our core values of collaboration, equity, transparency, and inclusiveness.
“By becoming a Public Benefit Corporation, we’re reinforcing our commitment to equitable, inclusive, and community-driven innovation and open source development. It will also allow us to scale our impact and work with more organizations towards building a sustainable open source ecosystem where maintainers thrive, open infrastructure is robust and secure, and open source is a collective responsibility.” Tania Allard, Quansight PBC CEO, Impact, PSF board vice chair, Jupyter Distinguished Contributor, conda and conda-forge steering council member.
Why This Matters
Open-source software is the backbone of modern discovery—from AI to healthcare—yet its maintenance is often underfunded and undervalued, with critical projects relying on volunteer efforts. Quansight PBC addresses this by:
- Monetizing expertise through mission-aligned consulting and training services.
- Advocating for ethical corporate sponsorship and participation in OSS by actively engaging and collaborating with corporate organizations.
- Sustaining open source projects and communities, and securing grants to fund OSS.
- Creating opportunities for new contributors through its OSS internship program.
- Supporting underserved community OSS projects through an Open Source Fund.
“Quansight was founded with the goal of connecting open source communities and organizations that rely on them. We have long stood for both business and community success, believing that open source software should be nurtured and elevated as a public good. Becoming a Public Benefit Corporation embeds that belief into our legal DNA. It empowers Quansight PBC to lead with purpose, to collaborate across industry and academia, and to ensure that open source remains sustainable for the long haul. This transition isn’t a change in direction—it’s a deeper commitment to and expansion of the values we’ve held from day one.” Travis Oliphant, Quansight, OpenTeams and Anaconda Founder, NumPy, SciPy, and Numba Creator.
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