From Open Source to AI Unicorn: The Timefold AI Story

Three years ago, the author's open-source project, OptaPlanner, was facing the axe. Instead of giving up, he founded Timefold AI. This article recounts his journey of transforming a nearly defunct open-source project into a rapidly growing Planning AI company, achieving commercial success without sacrificing open-source values. From a humble hobby project to acquisition by Red Hat and finally, independent entrepreneurship, the author navigates the challenges of building a startup: finding a sustainable business model, assembling a team, securing funding. Timefold AI ultimately launched a cloud SaaS platform based on its open-source project and gained market traction. It's an inspiring story of perseverance, innovation, and teamwork, demonstrating the potential of open-source commercialization.