Open-source software, once seen as the province of propeller heads and anti-capitalist visionaries, is winning the respect of the most clear-eyed capitalists of all: the venture capital community.
In the last few years, venture funding for open-source companies has jumped from $72 million in 2002 to $262 million in 2005, according to Venture One. Meanwhile, the number of open-software start-ups funded in those years climbed from 11 in 2002 to 30 in 2005.