VentureBeat reports that Arvind Krishna, CEO of IBM, answered questions at their own Think 2024 seminar where they introduced the open-source AI model Granite. He emphasized that Granite is just one of a few AI models using true open-source licenses (in this case, the Apache license).
Krishna stressed that other open-source-like licenses that many companies use are not truly open-source, but merely marketing tactics. He confirmed that only genuine open-source licenses can truly attract external developers.
The Register interprets Krishna’s responses as a signal that IBM may revert Terraform’s licensing back to open-source after completing the acquisition of HashiCorp, likely by the end of this year.
In 2023, HashiCorp changed its software license from the Mozilla Public License to its own Business Source License (BUSL), which has more restrictions, leading to community dissatisfaction. This resulted in the fork of the Terraform project into OpenTofu and Vault into OpenBao.
The Register also notes that Oracle has replaced Terraform in Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS) Cloud Manager with OpenTofu, indicating that if IBM does not align with HashiCorp’s direction, they may lose customers.
The developers behind OpenTofu recently mentioned that they are open to reuniting with Terraform as before, as no one likes the divided developer community resulting from the split. Should Terraform revert to its original open-source license.
Source: VentureBeat, The Register
TLDR: IBM CEO Arvind Krishna discussed the open-source AI model Granite and hinted at re-licensing Terraform back to open-source, following HashiCorp’s change to the restrictive Business Source License, leading to community divisions and potential customer losses.
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