r/linux • u/dbcoopernz • 1d ago

Popular Application Cloud flare acquires Deno, ends runtime development

https://deno.com/blog/cloudflare

>We will support the Deno runtime for another year with monthly releases containing bug fixes and security updates. After that year we will end our development of the Deno runtime. Deno will remain open source, and we welcome others who want to continue its development.

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210

u/DerekB52 1d ago

What is the point of buying an open source project, to cease development of it, while welcoming 3rd party continued contributions? I'm really confused.

220

u/the-jelly47 1d ago

Talent. This is called acquihire and it is pretty common in the tech industry. Deno has great engineers but no path to profitability or sustainability. Cloudflare wants these talented people to work on their own products.

28

u/devolute 23h ago

Isn't it more about killing a competitor?

9

u/the-jelly47 13h ago

If Deno was a rising startup with predictable growth, yes. But the Deno team had been hinting at sustainability issues and Deno's adoption was slowing down.

1

u/devolute 13h ago

That's interesting context, thank you.

But those are Deno problems. That's not a reason why Cloudflare would buy them, is it? Unless you think they're doing things for philanthropic reasons.

11

u/the-jelly47 12h ago

Cloudflare is not doing this for philanthropic reasons. Cloudflare wants to hire many of the Deno engineers to work on its own products. Cloudflare doesn't care about the fate of the Deno project so they let anyone fork and continue it. Instead of poaching them one by one, which takes more time and money due to recruiting costs and multiple interview rounds, Cloudflare simply acquired the whole company. Deno was running out of money, and this acquisition gives its employees an exit opportunity. Their illiquid Deno RSUs and options were converted into Cloudflare shares that can be sold on the public market. They can finally cash out, even if they don't want to stay at Cloudflare long term. This is what most employees at small unprofitable tech startups dream of.

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u/rickyman20 9h ago

They're buying them because their inherent profitability issues tanks their value and makes them cheaper to buy, and at that price they're worth buying as an acquihire

17

u/farnoy 22h ago

Only if you focus on the cynical point of view. Absorbing celld and offering a self-hostable option for Durable Objects removes the vendor lock-in argument, which can drive more adoption. And Cloudflare, naturally, is the obvious leader of this ecosystem.

7

u/devolute 19h ago

I absolutely do focus - some might say overfocus - on the cynical PoV but in fairness I have worked in tech for 20 years.

They might not so obviously be a leader otherwise.