Web News: How Open Source Makes Money (Tailwind CSS Debacle)

from HTML All The Things - Web Development, AI, and Developer Careers Hosted by Matt Lawrence and Mike Karan

Despite Tailwind CSS usage continuing to grow, the company recently revealed a sharp revenue decline tied to the rise of AI coding tools. Founder Adam Wathan explained how tools like GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT reduced documentation traffic, cutting off Tailwind’s primary revenue funnel. In this edition of Web News, Matt and Mike explore what this means for Tailwind, the broader open-source ecosystem, and how open-source projects actually make money in 2026. Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcast/how-open-source-makes-money-tailwind-css-debacle

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What this episode covers

AI tools are changing how developers interact with open-source software - and it’s starting to hit revenue. This Web News breaks down Tailwind CSS’s recent financial struggles, why documentation traffic matters more than you think, and whether foundational open-source technologies can sustainably survive in an AI-driven development world.

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Web News: How Open Source Makes Money (Tailwind CSS Debacle)

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This episode is 24 minutes long.

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This episode was published on January 17, 2026.

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