By ByteBot
After 19 years maintaining Anki, creator Damien Elmes transferred ownership to AnkiHub—a for-profit company with 35 employees. The Hacker News reaction (349 points, 88 comments) is split down the middle: half grateful for nearly two decades of free software, half worried this is the beginning of “enshittification.” The debate cuts to open source’s biggest unsolved problem—how do you sustain popular projects without selling out?
What Happened and Why
Damien Elmes announced the transition February 2-3, 2026, in an official forum post transferring business operations and stewardship to AnkiHub, founded by Nick Palumbo and Andrew Sanchez. The company has 35 employees and runs a $5/month premium tier for collaborative deck features and AI-assisted studying. David Allison, AnkiDroid’s lead maintainer, is joining full-time to guide governance.
Damien’s reasoning is hard to argue with. “Unsustainably long hours and constant stress took a toll on relationships and well-being,” he wrote. The engaging deep work of solving technical problems had devolved into reactive crisis management. Nineteen years as a solo bottleneck isn’t sustainable, and the risk of single-point-of-failure for millions of users is real.
AnkiHub promises the core code stays open source forever, no VC funding, no external investors, and “no enshittification.” Pricing stays affordable. AnkiDroid remains independently governed. On paper, this looks like the best-case scenario for an exit strategy.
The Community Is Deeply Divided
Hacker News commenters are torn. The grateful camp points out that Damien delivered 19 years of free, high-quality software—he’s earned the benefit of the doubt. Better a company takeover than project abandonment. No VC involvement is a huge positive signal.
The skeptical camp isn’t buying it. “Every company claims no enshittification when acquired…it’s rarely the case,” one commenter wrote, capturing the historical pattern. AnkiHub already sells paid add-ons and premium tiers, creating a direct conflict of interest: the company makes more money if the free version gets worse.
Concerns center on AnkiWeb deck sharing becoming paywalled, add-on ecosystem restrictions favoring AnkiHub’s premium features, and mobile apps shifting to subscription models. The governance details are vague—a “formal governance model” will be developed, but when? Who makes final decisions? Can the community veto exploitative changes?
The Track Record for This Model Is Poor
History doesn’t inspire confidence. Redis, MongoDB, and Elasticsearch all started as permissive open source projects backed by companies promising user-first values. All three eventually restricted their licenses to protect revenue.
Redis went from BSD to Commons Clause to the Redis Source Available License after backlash. MongoDB raised over $430 million and shifted to the Server Side Public License in 2018—a move the Open Source Initiative rejected as not meeting open source criteria. Elasticsearch followed the same path, changing from Apache License to SSPL after AWS created a competing version.
The pattern is consistent: build user base on open source goodwill, face cloud provider competition or revenue pressure, restrict the license, break community trust. All three companies are commercially successful. All three sacrificed the open source principles they started with.
AnkiHub starts with better intentions—no VC funding means no pressure for exponential growth, and the existing $5/month model is already profitable. But revenue pressure builds over time. Thirty-five employees cost money. When growth slows, the temptation to paywall core features or hobble the free version becomes overwhelming.
Why Not a Foundation?
The Python Software Foundation, Apache Software Foundation, and Linux Foundation all govern critical open source projects without profit motives. They’re slower and more bureaucratic, and fundraising is an ongoing challenge. But they preserve independence—no conflict of interest, no shareholders demanding growth, community governance from day one.
Damien likely rejected this path because AnkiHub’s existing business model is sustainable and promises faster innovation than foundation bureaucracy allows. But that’s trading long-term independence for short-term velocity. Foundations have better track records for maintaining principles over decades.
What to Watch Over the Next Six Months
The first 6-12 months will reveal whether AnkiHub’s promises are real or performative. Watch for these green flags: formal governance published with real community power, free version getting meaningful improvements, AnkiWeb deck sharing staying unrestricted, transparent roadmap with community input.
Red flags to worry about: governance model never materializing, free version stagnating while premium gets all the updates, core features moving to paid tiers, AnkiWeb introducing paywalls, license changes to more restrictive terms, or AnkiHub raising VC funding despite the “no investors” promise.
If things go wrong, the community has insurance. Anki is open source—it can be forked anytime. LibreOffice successfully forked from OpenOffice after Oracle’s acquisition. “Anki Classic” is already being discussed on Hacker News as a backup plan.
Practical advice: back up your decks regularly, watch governance decisions closely, and be ready to migrate if red flags appear. The open source license means you’re not locked in.
The Verdict
Damien’s contribution is genuine. Nineteen years of unpaid work is extraordinary, and burnout is a real crisis in open source—60% of maintainers are unpaid volunteers. The sustainability problem is unsolved, and there are no perfect answers.
But the track record for open source projects transitioning to for-profit companies is poor. Good intentions hit revenue pressure and shareholder expectations. Principles bend. Users get burned. AnkiHub has a chance to be different—no VC funding and an already-profitable model are advantages. Proving the skeptics wrong will require years of consistent action, not just initial promises.
Watch closely. Hope for the best. Plan for the worst. And remember: the open source license is your exit strategy. If AnkiHub breaks faith, fork and move on.
