A Renewed Commitment to the Zig Software Foundation

By Mitchell Hashimoto | June 21, 2026

I am pleased to announce that my family is committing an additional $400,000 to the Zig Software Foundation (ZSF).

💰 Financial Breakdown

This latest pledge increases our cumulative financial support for the ZSF to a total of $700,000, building upon our initial contribution made back in 2024.

Contribution Period	Amount	Structure
2024 Initial Gift	$300,000	Initial Support
2026 New Pledge	$400,000	$200k/year over 2 years
Total	$700,000	\sum \text{Pledges} = \700,000$

🛠️ Why I Support Zig

My admiration for Zig persists, both as a technical endeavor and as a community. The 2026 devlog highlights a consistent trajectory of progress in solving the complex puzzles inherent in creating a top-tier compiler and language.

Beyond the code, I have immense respect for how the project handles its ecosystem. Specifically, I value:

• Maintainership Models: Initiatives such as Loris Cro's Contributor Poker.
• Strict Standards: The project's decisive AI Ban.

This distinct philosophy acts as a magnet, drawing in and nurturing some of the most gifted individuals in the open-source world.

🤖 The AI Debate and Community Discourse

Recently, the public conversation resurfaced regarding Zig's rigid policy against LLM-generated contributions. This was highlighted by the news of Bun's Zig fork and subsequent Rust rewrite.

To be clear: Bun is a problem Bun is a fantastic project, and I have no desire to make this post about them. What concerned me was the speed at which the community descended into mutual villainization. The discourse was often devoid of empathy and lacked respect for differing perspectives.

My own stance on AI is nuanced:

1. I have documented my own journey of adopting AI.
2. I have successfully shipped actual features using AI tools.
3. I remain vocal about the need for rationality regarding AI's limits.
4. I am frustrated by the detrimental effects AI can have on open source.

While my views do not perfectly mirror the ZSF's strict stance, I maintain absolute respect for the foundation's people, their policies, and the project itself.

"Part of what makes the internet and open source great is that projects can be weird and different. They can set unusual boundaries, build their own culture, and pursue quality in ways that won't make sense to everyone."

🚀 Final Thoughts

Zig is a piece of exceptional software—it is independent, ambitious, practical, and possesses an uncommon dedication to quality. In fact, Ghostty would not exist in its current form if Zig hadn't provided the tools necessary for me to build the specific type of software I envisioned.

Current Support Goals:

• Initial 2024 Funding
• 2026 Pledge Announcement
• Year 1 Disbursement ($200k)
• Year 2 Disbursement ($200k)

I am proud to stand behind the Zig Software Foundation once again.

const std = @import("std");

pub fn main() void {
    const pledge = 400_000;
    std.debug.print("Pledging ${d} to ZSF!\n", .{pledge});
}