Convergence Labs was founded in 2017 as the business entity supporting Convergence, an engine for building real-time collaboration features and functionality. We rewrote from scratch software that we had embedded in other production applications offering real-time collaboration features, and hoped it could be useful to a broader audience. Over time we experimented with a few different business models, from a full-fledged Infrastructure-as-a-Service offering to an open-core paid support model. We stayed true to our ideals throughout, bootstrapping what success we had and keeping full control over the business.
Over time it became clear that the target market for this type of software was not that large, and that the bootstrapped business model was ill-fitted for such a technically complex product offering. In early 2020 the founding team had mostly turned their attention to other projects, and Convergence became a hobby, albeit one we still put significant time and effort into.
Convergence has been free and open source for many years now, and its various software components will retain their current licenses (see our GitHub repo). There will no longer be an official business entity supporting the software, but we encourage anyone motivated from the existing community to jump in. We will be taking down most of the web properties and email addresses in the coming weeks and days, but you can get in touch with us via GitHub.
It has been a rewarding journey, and we’re proud of the robust piece of software that has allowed so many people to experience what it’s like to collaborate with others live, especially in the new world ushered in by the COVID-19 pandemic. We’re grateful for everyone that believed in us and supported us. Thank you!