February 2, 2026
Flashcards meet flashpoint
Ownership of open source flashcard app Anki transferred to for-profit AnkiHub
Anki hands the keys to for‑profit AnkiHub — fans split between relief and side‑eye
TLDR: Anki’s founder is passing the project’s reins to for‑profit AnkiHub while promising it stays open source. Comments split between calm optimism and wary side‑eye, with cheers that AnkiDroid stays independent and jokes about the “bus” risk and long‑overdue UI polish.
The creator of Anki, the wildly beloved study app, is handing business operations and open‑source stewardship to AnkiHub, a for‑profit company — and the comments instantly turned into a town hall with memes. He promises Anki stays open source, he’s not disappearing, and this avoids the “hit‑by‑a‑bus” single‑founder risk. But the crowd? Equal parts hugs and side‑eye.
The calm brigade insists this is a controlled handoff with guardrails: “no reason to panic,” says one reassuring voice. Gratitude flooded in—“Thanks for getting me through school!”—as med students and language nerds reminisced about an app that became a life raft during finals. Meanwhile, skeptics brought receipts: one top‑voted take cheered that the actually good Android version, AnkiDroid, is run separately, and threw shade at the neglected iOS app. The vibe: fingers crossed this isn’t the start of “enshittification” (internet slang for apps getting worse once money takes over).
Nostalgia met pragmatism. One veteran called the app’s rise a “symbiosis” of nerdy med students and a tiny open‑source tool. Others shrugged: even in a worst‑case world, Anki’s already perfect. Jokes flew about the bus clause, UI glow‑ups, and “AnkiHub, not EnshittiHub.” Verdict: cautious optimism with a watchful eye, and a lot of love for the flashcard king.
Key Points
- •Anki’s founder plans a gradual transition of business operations and open-source stewardship to AnkiHub.
- •Provisions will be put in place to ensure Anki remains open source and aligned with long-standing principles.
- •The founder will remain involved at a more sustainable level rather than fully departing.
- •Reasons for the change include unsustainable workload, stress, and the difficulty of delegating key responsibilities.
- •Expected benefits include faster development, more collaboration, improved UI polish, and reduced single-point-of-failure risk.