Five years ago, we started ApeWorX with a simple conviction: the most widely used programming language in the world deserves the best developer tooling in Web3. Today, we're doubling down on that conviction in a bigger way than we ever anticipated.

We're formally announcing the ApeWorX Collective, a nonprofit home for Ethereum's open-source Python developer tooling, including some well-known and well-loved projects previously maintained by Snake Charmers of the Ethereum Foundation.

In fact, most of the Ethereum Foundation's Python open source packages, including web3.py, are being moved under the stewardship of the ApeWorX Collective.

We are taking over maintenance of these foundational libraries to ensure their continued upkeep. These packages are core dependencies of our own projects, and they're used daily by thousands of Ethereum developers worldwide, with millions of downloads a month. Their health is our health. We're committed to modernizing their project management, welcoming contributions from the broader Ethereum Python community, and ensuring that web3.py and its siblings continue to grow.

We'll have more details on the migration and governance structure for these libraries soon. If you're a web3.py contributor or maintainer, we want to hear from you.

Our flagship open-source projects, Ape and Silverback, will continue to be actively maintained under the Collective. The repositories aren't going anywhere. The community growing around these tools is very much alive.

Development will be shaped by contributors, decisions will be made in the open, and the roadmap will be set by the people who show up to build. @fubuloubu and several core team members from ApeWorX LTD will continue as maintainers, joined by non-ApeWorX contributors from the broader Python community who are stepping up in this new chapter.

While the maintainers will continue guiding Ape’s core direction and stability, we also want the project to evolve more organically alongside the Ethereum Python ecosystem itself. The long-term roadmap should reflect the needs of the builders actively relying on these tools every day. In order to achieve that, we are investing in making our codebases easier to contribute to: lowering the barrier for new contributors, improving documentation, and building AI-friendly development tooling so that the ecosystem stays productive and well-maintained for years to come.

Here's something we're especially proud of: the core IP behind our Silverback Platform SaaS product is being open-sourced as silverbackOS, a Kubernetes-based cluster management system designed for institutional-scale Silverback operators.

Rather than let years of work on our infrastructure product go to waste, we're open sourcing it. We're confident releasing this technology will be genuinely useful for teams running Silverback at scale. More technical details about silverbackOS are coming soon.

We owe you honesty: ApeWorX LTD, the company, has winded down.

This wasn't a decision we came to lightly. We spent five years building tools we believe in, alongside a community we deeply respect. But our primary monetization avenues didn't find the customer adoption we needed to sustain the business. The revenue path wasn't there, and we owe it to everyone -- our team, contributors, and community -- to be straightforward about that.

ApeWorX LTD's paid product suite has already off-boarded all of its users. Its consulting business has already been shut down. The team stepped away from full-time roles over the past year. The company is completing the shutdown process independently.

What doesn't disappear is everything we built together. The code is open. The community is real. And our mission continues under the ApeWorX Collective.

We've also made the decision to shut down the ApeWorX Discord server. Discord's age verification requirements don't align with the kind of open, accessible community space we want to maintain. Going forward, primary community conversation about our projects will live in GitHub Discussions, keeping development and support in one place. Our existing Telegram channels will continue as well, for more casual conversation.

This is the moment where community involvement matters most. Here's where your contribution makes a real difference:

Contribute code. Pick up an issue, submit a PR, or tackle something that's been on your wish list. Every contribution counts more now than ever.

Improve documentation. If you've ever figured something out the hard way, write it down for the next person.

Participate in discussions. The future direction of these projects will be shaped in the open. Your voice matters.

Spread the word. The best thing you can do for an open-source project is help it grow. Tell people how these tools helped you ship.

Donate. Open-source software still takes real resources to maintain. Donations to the ApeWorX Collective go directly toward development and maintenance costs. We're structured on OpenCollective, which means full financial transparency -- you can see exactly where funds go.

To give you a sense of scale: sustaining even one part-time dedicated maintainer costs roughly $40–60k/year. Bringing on a full-time contributor is $80–120k/year. If regular donations reach those thresholds, we will hire through OpenCollective's sponsorship program. Every recurring contribution gets us closer to that. We'll be adding project-specific funding initiatives so you can direct support toward the packages that matter most to you.

Building ApeWorX has been one of the most meaningful experiences of our lives. The technology matters to us... but what matters more is the community of people who showed up, contributed, challenged us, and believed in what we were building.

A company is shutting down. The open-source legacy we built is not.

We hope you'll stick around and help us write the next chapter.

With gratitude, ApeWorX LTD and the ApeWorX Collective