GitHub has announced that over 100 million developers are making use of the platform to write code. Microsoft acquired the web-based hosting service back in 2018, spending $7.5 billion in stock. However, the Redmond company let GitHub continue running as a single entity.
At the time of acquisition, the platform had just gained 3 million developers pushing it to 31 million active users in general. Later on, in 2019, the company set a goal and was aiming to have 100 million developers using GitHub by 2025.
This puts GitHub two years ahead of its initial goal and it is still committed to its cause, “to help bring more new developers into technology and help people work together to build the next great thing, accelerate human progress, and solve problems we don’t yet understand.”
Mid-last year, the platform launched Copilot to help developers use AI to develop and write code powered by OpenAI. However, a class action lawsuit was filed by a developer thus preventing it reach a wide audience. The lawsuit was filed on the premise that the Copilot project pirates open-source development by violating GitHub’s policies, the California Consumer Privacy Act, and DCMA 1202.
The case is still in its primary stages and the way forward is yet to be determined. GitHub has further added that it will continue to provide developers with tools and resources that will help them write code effectively and efficiently. That is, “From creating the pull request to empowering developers with AI through GitHub Copilot, everything we do has been to put the developer first.”
