For some time now, the majority of open source investment has come from venture capital and mega-corporations. There is good reason to think that this level of patronage will not persist indefinitely. Should VC-funded open source companies fail to return on investment, then VC investment will dry up.? The high-profile companies bolstering open source do so primarily for selfish motives and can’t necessarily be relied on to do so forever. ?So it’s essential that companies that develop and market open source products be able to generate some return on their investment.