A new wave of open source startups is transforming the tech landscape, and the latest ROSS Index 2024 from Runa Capital highlights those gaining the fastest traction — many at the heart of the AI boom. The report ranks the fastest-growing commercial open source startups globally based on GitHub “star” growth, offering a snapshot of innovation and community momentum. This year, more than half of the top 20 startups are building directly in or adjacent to AI, reflecting the surge in demand for developer tooling, LLMs, self-hosted infrastructure, and open alternatives to proprietary tech.
According to the 2024 ROSS Index, the top spot goes to Ollama, a Y Combinator alum that lets users run large language models like Meta’s Llama locally on their desktop. Ollama saw its GitHub stars soar by over 76,000 last year, growing 261% to top 135,000 stars. Following closely is Zed Industries, a collaborative, high-performance code editor optimized for AI workflows. Though the project went open source only in January 2024, it gained over 52,000 stars by year’s end. In third is LangGenius, the company behind Dify, an open-source platform for building LLM apps. It grew 326% over the year, hitting nearly 84,000 stars. ComfyUI, a no-code interface for generative AI workflows including images and video, ranked fourth with nearly 62,000 stars. All Hands, creator of OpenHands, rounds out the top five with a strong showing as it builds software development agents and automation tools.
The full list includes a wide range of developer-first tools, privacy-focused applications, and AI-native platforms. Moonbit, Stirling PDF, Maybe Finance, and UV (by Astral) all reflect the broader trend of practical, open, and community-driven software. Notably, RustDesk, a self-hosted remote desktop solution, and LibreChat, an open-source ChatGPT UI, show the enduring demand for secure, self-hostable alternatives. Even Fuel Labs, a Layer-2 blockchain infrastructure project, demonstrates that crypto is alive and well in open source circles.
Here are the top 20 hottest open source startups of 2024, based on GitHub star growth:
- Ollama – Local LLM runner (+76,000 stars)
- Zed Industries – AI-powered collaborative code editor (+52,000)
- LangGenius (Dify) – LLM app builder (+43,000)
- ComfyUI – No-code generative AI workflows (+41,000)
- All Hands (OpenHands) – Development automation agents (+39,600)
- Moonbit – Programming language for AI systems
- Stirling PDF – Self-hosted PDF editing suite
- Maybe Finance – Personal finance management
- UV (Astral) – Terminal-based AI assistant
- DevToys – Developer utilities suite
- Continue – VS Code AI pair programming plugin
- Fuel Labs – Ethereum Layer-2 blockchain tools
- AI Engineer OS – AI app-building toolkit
- LibreChat – Self-hosted ChatGPT-style UI
- ToolJet – Open-source low-code app builder
- SigNoz – Observability for microservices
- RustDesk – Remote desktop with self-hosting
- Qdrant – Vector search database
- Turso – Edge-hosted SQLite database
- Infisical – Secret management platform
According to Paul Sawers, TechCrunch. Geographically, San Francisco leads with six startups in the top 20. Canada follows with three, and the rest are spread across the U.K., Europe, Singapore, and China, reinforcing open source’s global DNA. While GitHub stars are an imperfect metric, they remain a strong indicator of developer interest and early adoption. Runa Capital filters for vendor-led startups under ten years old, with under $100 million in funding and no public or subsidiary ownership, making this list a focused snapshot of fast-rising, independent players.
Whether you’re a developer, founder, or investor, this year’s ROSS Index makes one thing clear: the future of software is open, AI-enhanced, and community-driven. As AI continues to accelerate demand for open infrastructure and tooling, these startups are not just trending — they’re setting the foundation for the next decade of innovation.
