Apache Software Foundation

The Apache Software Foundation (ASF) is a US non-profit that supports open-source software projects. It was incorporated in 1999 in Delaware, growing out of the group that developed the Apache HTTP Server. It is not a software vendor in the commercial sense: volunteers and contributors build its projects, and the foundation provides legal, financial, infrastructure and brand support.

The ASF hosts hundreds of projects. Among those most relevant to Indian businesses are Apache OpenOffice (an office suite), the Apache HTTP Server, Apache Kafka, Spark, Hadoop, Cassandra, Tomcat, Airflow and NetBeans. All are released under the Apache License 2.0, which allows free commercial use, modification and redistribution.

ASF software is free of charge. The foundation does not sell licences, subscriptions or support. Businesses that need commercial support usually buy it from third-party companies that build on Apache projects. The foundation is funded by donations and corporate sponsorships.

The ASF is governed by its members, who elect a board of directors each year. The board then appoints officers, including the president. The ASF announced its 2026–2027 board after its annual members' meeting on 5 March 2026, and its governance pages list officers and project management committees. Projects follow the 'Apache Way' of consensus-based, community-led development, and new projects start in the Apache Incubator before becoming top-level projects. The foundation also runs community events known as Community Over Code, formerly ApacheCon. Because Apache OpenOffice is maintained by volunteers, its release pace is slower than that of commercial office suites, and some users have moved to the separately run LibreOffice project.