More than funding: Sovereign Tech Fund to become an agency

The German government wants to consolidate and rename the Sovereign Tech Fund for the promotion of open source. In the future, a state-owned company under the name "Sovereign Tech Agency" will promote the development of open source basic technologies. The new agency is to be affiliated with the federal government's leapfrog innovation agency SPRIND as a limited company

The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) has funded 60 technology projects to date via the Sovereign Tech Fund, which was set up in 2022. For example, open source is to be strengthened by funding vulnerability research. Maintainers of critical components can also be supported as fellows. In addition, the Sovereign Tech Fund organizes competitions to structurally improve the quality of relevant open source developments.

"Open source components form an important basis of the global digital infrastructure," says Franziska Brantner (Greens), Parliamentary State Secretary at the BMWK. "However, up-to-dateness and security depend far too often on dedicated developers maintaining the components in their spare time, usually without remuneration." Professionalization via the STF shows that there is another way.

More funding for 2025

According to the Sovereign Tech Fund, it has received 500 applications for funding, with a total volume of 114 million euros to date. To date, 23.5 million euros in funding has been made available, which is now set to increase to 29 million euros in the upcoming federal budget. "The agency will continue to focus on digital infrastructure, open technologies in the public interest and common digital resources," reads a statement on the Sovereign Tech Agency's website.

(vbr)