The fear is real. HashiCorp changed Terraform's license. Redis went from open to restricted. MongoDB, Elastic, Confluent—the list of "open-source" platforms that shifted to more restrictive terms keeps growing.
Each case follows the same pattern: build adoption on open-source credibility, establish market position, then change the terms. Organizations that built on these platforms suddenly face restrictions they never anticipated.
If you're evaluating AI platforms, you're right to be anxious about lock-in. AI infrastructure becomes deeply embedded in how you operate. Switching costs are high. And the AI platform market is young enough that vendor stability is uncertain.
Start with the license. Not "open-source" as marketing language—the actual legal terms that govern your rights.
Key questions to ask: Is the license OSI-approved? What restrictions exist on commercial use? Can the vendor change terms on existing releases? What happens to your rights if the vendor changes the license for future versions?
Licenses tell you what you can do today. Business models tell you what the vendor is incentivized to do tomorrow.
Even with favorable licensing, technical lock-in can trap you. Evaluate how portable your implementation would be:
Before committing to any platform, develop an explicit exit strategy. Not because you expect to use it—but because having one changes the power dynamic and clarifies lock-in risks.
Having an exit strategy changes the power dynamic. When you know you can leave, you choose to stay because the platform delivers value—not because leaving is too expensive. That's the difference between a partnership and captivity.
Bringing it together, evaluate AI platforms across four dimensions:
No platform is risk-free. But platforms that score well across these dimensions give you strategic flexibility. You're choosing to stay because the platform delivers value—not because leaving is too expensive.
That's the difference between partnership and captivity. Evaluate before you commit. The playbook only works before you're embedded.
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