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Ladybird Web Browser becomes a non-profit with $1 Million from GitHub Founder
The "From Scratch" browser is preparing to take on Mozilla & Google
July 01, 2024
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The original founder of GitHub (Chris Wanstrath) has partnered up with the founder of SerenityOS and the Ladybird web browser (Andreas Kling) to create "The Ladybird Browser Initiative" -- a USA-based non-profit dedicated exclusively to building a brand new web browser.  From scratch.

While many have claimed that developing a new web browser "from scratch" is an impossible goal, the founders of The Ladybird Browser Initiative believe they can do it.  What's more, they are confident it can be done without taking any funding from corporate deals or advertising revenue.

Their goal?  To have a fully functional "Alpha" version of the Ladybird browser ready sometime in 2026.

Ladybird Funding

Roughly one year ago, the Ladybird Browser received their first major sponsorship ($100,000 from Shopify).  Now, with the creation of a 501(c)(3) non-profit (accompanied by a $1 Million dollar pledge from the GitHub founder), Ladybird is preparing to become the only major web browser which does not treat the user like the product being sold.

"Today, every major browser engine is open source, which is wonderful, but there's still one issue: they're all funded by Google's advertising empire. Chrome, Edge, Brave, Arc, and Opera all use Google's Chromium. Apple receives billions to make Google the default search engine in Safari, and Firefox has a similar deal where they receive hundreds of millions each year.

 

The world needs a browser that puts people first, contributes to open standards using a brand new engine, and is free from advertising's influence."

The fact that every major web browser engine is funded by advertising (specifically, via Google) is, indeed, a concern -- which makes the idea of a web browser free from that influence incredibly interesting.

But how, exactly, is Ladybird going to pull this off?

"Unlike traditional business models that rely on monetizing the user, Ladybird is funded entirely by sponsorships and donations from companies and individuals who care about the open web. Our non-profit will not pursue corporate deals or revenue outside of unrestricted donations. The software and its source code will be available for free, forever."

While it's easy to dismiss the notion of "funding a web browser via donations" as an unachievable, whimsical goal... Ladybird has already had some significant success in that area (not least of which, the $1 Million dollars from the GitHub founder), resulting in Ladybird already having 4 paid, full time developers (with 3 more programmers "starting soon").

So, maybe this approach is not as "unachievable" and "whimsical" as it first seems.

No Corporate Control

Also fascinating is this statement:

"Our non-profit will not pursue corporate deals or revenue outside of unrestricted donations."

What does that mean, in practice?

It means Ladybird won't be doing corporate deals for default search engines.  Or marketing campaigns for other companies.  This means that, if they can stick to their guns, Ladybird stands a real chance of a truly independent web browser... one which no company can control.

In fact the Ladybird Browser Initiative even has a policy specifically not allowing corporate donors to buy board seats:

"All sponsorships are in the form of unrestricted donations. Board seats and other forms of influence are not for sale."

This is a huge deal.  Massive.

A problem many non-profit foundations face is corruption of their core mission via corporate control of their boards.  There are many examples throughout the Open Source world of exactly this sort of problem (looking at you, Linux Foundation), and to see Ladybird recognize this problem -- and take action to prevent it -- right from the start?

Color me impressed.

The Current Status

The first public "Alpha" release of Ladybird may be a ways out (slated for 2026), but the current development versions are already quite far along.

"We can already do some of our daily browsing with Ladybird, like managing GitHub issues and pull requests, and commenting on Hacker News. The browser is improving every day, as our community of contributors are actively fixing bugs and adding features."

Testing of a recent build of Ladybird confirmed that statement.  Many websites function perfectly -- including some quite complex sites.  While many other websites were... less than functional.  Lots of work has clearly been done, with lots more left to do.

Can the development team improve Ladybird to a point where it will be usable, as a primary web browser, some time in next few years?  Considering the progress to date... it seems entirely possible.

"We won't be chasing buzzwords"

The Lunduke Journal reached out to The Ladybird Browser Initiative's co-Founder, Andreas Kling, with a burning question...

Now that the Ladybird web browser has an official nonprofit, with multiple full time developers working on it, you are clearly moving towards direct competition with the likes of Google and Mozilla.  The eye of Sauron is upon you.  How does that feel?

Kling's response:

"Feels great! The web is one of humanity's greatest inventions, and it deserves diverse, competing implementations to truly thrive. The industry has been heading in a troubling direction for years, with companies like Microsoft and Opera abandoning their own browser engines in favor of Chromium.

 

We obviously don't have the resources of companies like Google, Apple, and Mozilla, so things will take some time. However, I'm extremely optimistic about the road ahead. We have a fantastic community of developers working on Ladybird, and we're making solid, consistent progress.

 

One thing we have going for us is focus. Unlike the major players, we're *completely* focused on one thing only: the web browser.

 

We won't be chasing buzzwords or looking for alternative revenue streams. Our goal is to build a good browser and give it away for free, while soliciting nothing but unrestricted donations from anyone who likes what we're doing."

There's a lot here to be excited about.

  • No chasing buzzwords.
  • No alternative revenue streams.
  • Total focus on the web browser.
  • A brand new, from scratch browser engine.
  • No advertising or Big Tech influence.
  • A rag-tag team of rebels going, toe to toe, with the Big Tech web browser makers.

While, according to the Ladybird team, they are a ways off from a major public release... it's hard not to feel a bit optimistic about what this could mean for the future of web browsing.  This may be early days still, but the possibilities are tantalizing.

The Lunduke Journal is rooting for you, Ladybird.

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"Andreas Kling creator of Serenity OS & Ladybird Web Browser" - Lunduke’s Big Tech Show - September 13th, 2023 - Ep 044

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The Unpublished Anti-Lunduke Hit-Piece
A Tech Journalist interviewed me for a hit-piece article. But the questions made them look bad, and they shelved the story. So I'm publishing their hit-piece for them.

Back in September, shortly after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, I was contacted by a Tech Journalist writing for FossForce.com (a smaller, Open Source focused publication) who was working on an article around Open Source, Antifa, and the Lunduke Journal’s coverage of those topics.

This particular outlet had, several months prior, run an “anti-Lunduke” hit piece without first reaching out for comment — which resulted in their most popular article (at least on social media) in quite some time.

With that in mind, it seemed reasonable that they’d want to repeat that success with another “anti-Lunduke” story.

This time they were doing the responsible thing. They reached out to the subject of the hit-piece article with questions. I like encouraging Tech Journalists when they do actual journalism, so I answered each and every query with easy-to-quote responses.

But, it would appear that the answers they received were not conducive to creating the hit-piece they were hoping for — my guess is they realized their questions made them look like the villain in the story. The villain they, clearly, hoped to portray me as.

They opted to not publish the piece.

So I’m publishing their hit-piece for them.

Below is every question — and every answer (with no edits) — which I was asked, on September 19th, by a Tech Journalist by the name of Christine Hall, writing for FossForce.

Fair warning: This is very, very politically charged.

Enjoy.


September 19th

Hall:

The last time I mentioned you in an article, you castigated me for not reaching out to you beforehand. Well, I’m reaching out now. We’ll see what comes of this.

You do recognize that the vast majority of organizations using the term antifa as a descriptor are not in the least bit terrorist and pose no threat to society -- and indeed, the only threats they might pose to fascist groups are not physical or life-harming?

Lunduke:

Hello Christine! Nice to hear from you!

Many, if not most, of those proclaiming support for Antifa (within Open Source) have also made statements encouraging or supporting violence and discrimination.

Regardless of that fact -- which I have documented extensively in Lunduke Journal coverage -- when violent acts are committed (such as murder, riots, and lynchings) in the name of “Antifa”, to turn around and immediately declare yourself to be “Antifa” is a clear declaration of support of that violence.

Hall:

And why did you feel it necessary to call out Danielle Foré’s [the founder of the elementary OS Linux Distribution] trans status in such an ugly manner?

Lunduke:

There is a noteworthy overlap between “Trans activism” and support for political violence -- including in the recent murder of Charlie Kirk (the murderer’s boyfriend was “Trans”).

In the case of Daniel Fore, he, a leader of an Open Source project, regularly calls for discrimination (and violence) against people he disagrees with -- often in conjunction with his self-declaration as “Trans”.

Thus, his declaration of being “Trans” becomes a part of the overall story.

It is worth noting here that The Lunduke Journal has never -- and would never -- call for discrimination or violence against someone because of how they identify or who they may (or may not) vote for.

This is in stark contrast those, such as Mr. Fore, who consider themselves “Trans” or “Antifa” -- who actively advocate for both discrimination and violence.

Hall:

Mentioning a person’s trans status in ways that are pertinent to your argument necessates rudeness such as calling her a “dude who likes to wear dresses”?

Lunduke:

Dan Fore is, in fact, a dude who likes to wear dresses.

The only reason to view that as a negative is if you view dudes wearing dresses as a negative.

Hall:

I’ll quote you on that, which I’m pretty sure won’t bother you in the least.

Lunduke:

Absolutely! Quote anything I say here. In fact, I suggest quoting absolutely everything I’ve written to you here, today.

Hall:

You also understand, don’t you, that voicing disagreement with an assessment made by POTUS is not only legal but a healthy part of the national dialog.

Lunduke:

Absolutely! Did I say somewhere that it was illegal to disagree with a politician? It seems unlikely that I have ever said that.

Hall:

Also, how would you reply to this:

There have been very few murders linked to individuals associated with Antifa, some incidents of rioting attributed to Antifa supporters, and no credible evidence of lynchings conducted in the name of Antifa. Compared to far-right groups, violence attributed to Antifa is much less frequent and lethal, with only one suspected kill—Aaron Danielson in Portland, by an anti-fascist activist—officially confirmed in recent U.S. history.

Lunduke:

Murder is bad. I am opposed to all murder.

In the context of these discussions, bearing in mind the Kirk murder is important (as many statements were made in response to it). The murderer of Kirk appears to have been pro-Trans and pro-Antifa (based on all available information).

Hall:

Is there any evidence that the suspect was part of an antifa group? I haven’t seen any.

Lunduke:

I have seen some reporting to this effect (including statements from family and messages he wrote).

But, far more important to this story, is the response to the murder among Antifa supporters (including those within Open Source). A large portion of Antifa supporters have celebrated the murder as justified because it killed someone they considered to be a “fascist”.

Hall:

Also, no group should be held responsible for what some deranged person who identifies with the group has done.

Lunduke:

I agree that a broader group should not be held responsible for the actions of a small number of individuals.

However, and this is critically important, it is entirely appropriate to hold people responsible for their own statements and actions.

With that in mind: The overall messaging of Antifa (and Antifa supporters) tends heavily towards violence. Punching, killing, molotov cocktails, etc. are all common messaging used by Antifa (including by those I quote within the Open Source world -- many of whom have advocated violence against myself).

Advocating for violence, then celebrating when violence is committed, are not good things.

Yet we see a great deal of that among Open Source supporters of Antifa.

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October 13, 2025
Sale ends in a few hours, Lifetime Subs set up.

Holy moly, you guys are amazing.

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To everyone who grabbed a Lifetime Subscription over the last few days: All of you are set to full Lifetime access. You should have a confirmation email in your inbox. If not, email me and I’ll make sure you’re setup properly.

That “50% off” sale ends tonight at midnight. So you have a few hours to snag a discounted subscription, if you haven’t already.

A huge thank you to everyone who supports this work. Couldn’t do it without you.

-Lunduke

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October 12, 2025
50% Off Lunduke Journal Extended Through Monday (Oct 13th)

Just a quick heads up:

The “50% off every kind of Subscription to The Lunduke Journal” sale has been extended through Monday (October 13th).

So. You know. Grab one at 50% off between now and end of the day on Monday.

To all of you amazing nerds who have picked up a Lifetime Subscription already this weekend: You are awesome. You’ll be receiving a confirmation email, with all of the Lifetime Subscription details, by tomorrow (if you haven’t already).

Oh, and remember how we hit 11 Million views last month? Yeah. We’re well on our way to blowing past those numbers in October.

Wild.

See you all on Monday!

-Lunduke

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