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> I’m just finding it really hard to believe that it’s sustainable and makes them enough money to run a team… Firefox is funded the same way, and they seem to

> I’m just finding it really hard to believe that it’s sustainable and makes them enough money to run a team… Firefox is funded the same way, and they seem to have plenty of income...

yunohn 5y ago
Firefox makes the vast majority of that income via their Google partnership. Vivaldi claims they do not get paid by Google.
- kingofclams 5y ago
  I’m not sure, but I have a feeling the majority of Vivaldi users wouldn’t be using google
  - yunohn 5y ago
    Frankly speaking, I’m pretty sure most users of both Firefox and Vivaldi are using Google. But my point was more around how the minimal amount of money coming from other search engines or sponsored bookmarks can’t sustain a browser dev team.
    - zamadatix 5y ago
      There were a couple years recently Firefox was primarily sponsored by either Yahoo or Bing (can't remember which) and that deal supported the entire Mozilla foundation same as the Google deal as well as Firefox (which also makes their own browser back end) not just a browser front-end dev team. So there are definitely other decent sources of income besides Google for these deals and since it's a significantly more focused organization it doesn't seem implausible to me.
      - addicted 5y ago
        It was Yahoo. But here's why there's confusion. Yahoo search at the time (or shortly before or after) switched to using Bing's search and ad engine.
      - yunohn 5y ago
        These deals are based on market share, user activity and usage, and so on. No search engine is paying Vivaldi as much money as Yahoo or Google did to Firefox. It would be laughable to expect that kind of sponsor money for a niche browser that also reduces ad tracking. That’s how these things work.
        zamadatix 5y ago
        It'd be laughable to expect Vivaldi needs the exact same 600 million dollar search deal that floats the entire Mozilla foundation to fund a custom Chromium UI. As I said, there are definitely other decent sources of income besides Google for these deals and since it's a significantly more focused organization it doesn't seem implausible to me.
- lucideer 5y ago
  Firefox makes the majority of that income via their Google partnership today. Recently, the majority of it was coming from Yahoo. The browser's market share will ultimately determine the market value of the search partnership, so Vivaldi will likely have a much lower income from it than Firefox, but it's in no way limited by whether they partner with Google or with any other search provider. For a smaller more efficient team, not maintaining their own browser engine, it could easily compare in sustainability to Firefox's income stream.

> I’m just finding it really hard to believe that it’s sustainable and makes them enough money to run a team… Firefox is funded the same way, and they seem to have plenty of income...

yunohn 5y ago

Firefox makes the vast majority of that income via their Google partnership. Vivaldi claims they do not get paid by Google.

kingofclams 5y ago
I’m not sure, but I have a feeling the majority of Vivaldi users wouldn’t be using google
- yunohn 5y ago
  Frankly speaking, I’m pretty sure most users of both Firefox and Vivaldi are using Google. But my point was more around how the minimal amount of money coming from other search engines or sponsored bookmarks can’t sustain a browser dev team.
  - zamadatix 5y ago
    There were a couple years recently Firefox was primarily sponsored by either Yahoo or Bing (can't remember which) and that deal supported the entire Mozilla foundation same as the Google deal as well as Firefox (which also makes their own browser back end) not just a browser front-end dev team. So there are definitely other decent sources of income besides Google for these deals and since it's a significantly more focused organization it doesn't seem implausible to me.
    - addicted 5y ago
      It was Yahoo. But here's why there's confusion. Yahoo search at the time (or shortly before or after) switched to using Bing's search and ad engine.
    - yunohn 5y ago
      These deals are based on market share, user activity and usage, and so on. No search engine is paying Vivaldi as much money as Yahoo or Google did to Firefox. It would be laughable to expect that kind of sponsor money for a niche browser that also reduces ad tracking. That’s how these things work.
      - zamadatix 5y ago
        It'd be laughable to expect Vivaldi needs the exact same 600 million dollar search deal that floats the entire Mozilla foundation to fund a custom Chromium UI. As I said, there are definitely other decent sources of income besides Google for these deals and since it's a significantly more focused organization it doesn't seem implausible to me.
lucideer 5y ago
Firefox makes the majority of that income via their Google partnership today. Recently, the majority of it was coming from Yahoo. The browser's market share will ultimately determine the market value of the search partnership, so Vivaldi will likely have a much lower income from it than Firefox, but it's in no way limited by whether they partner with Google or with any other search provider. For a smaller more efficient team, not maintaining their own browser engine, it could easily compare in sustainability to Firefox's income stream.