The Apache Software Foundation owns and governs NetBeans as a top-level Apache project. Oracle created the modern code base and donated it to Apache in 2016, so the project's ownership is the nonprofit, not a company.

Is NetBeans still developed?

Yes. Apache NetBeans releases on a rolling cadence through community contributors, with versions continuing through 2026 that keep pace with new Java releases. It remains an actively maintained top-level Apache project.

When was NetBeans created?

NetBeans began in 1996 as the Xelfi student project in Prague, led by Roman Stanek. It was commercialized in 1997, acquired by Sun Microsystems in 1999, inherited by Oracle in 2010, and donated to Apache in 2016.

Yes. Apache NetBeans is free and open source under the Apache License 2.0, with no commercial tiers, subscriptions, or feature gating.

Technology & Software

Who Owns NetBeans?

NetBeans is an open-source integrated development environment originally created as a student project in Prague in 1996 and stewarded today by the Apache Software Foundation. Sun Microsystems acquired it in 1999 and Oracle inherited it with the Sun acquisition in 2010, donating it to Apache in 2016. Apache NetBeans releases on a rolling cadence and supports Java plus Maven, Gradle, and multiple language tooling.

Parent Company

Oracle Corporation

Founded

1996

Status

Private

Headquarters

Apache Software Foundation, Forest Hill, Maryland, USA

NetBeans Timeline

1977

Oracle Corporation

Parent company established in Austin, Texas, USA

Company Founded

1996

NetBeans

Founded by Roman Stanek (Xelfi student project, Prague)

Founded

GlobalOfficial Website

Who Owns NetBeans?

Parent Company: Oracle Corporation
Ownership Type: Subsidiary
Company Type: Publicly Traded
Stock Ticker: NYSE: ORCL

Brand	Parent Company	Ownership Type
NetBeans	Oracle Corporation	Subsidiary

History of NetBeans

Founded: 1996
Founders: Roman Stanek (Xelfi student project, Prague)

NetBeans started in 1996 as Xelfi, a student project at Charles University in Prague led by Roman Stanek, a modular IDE written in Java at a time when Java itself was barely a year old. The project commercialized as NetBeans in 1997 and was acquired by Sun Microsystems in October 1999, which open-sourced it in 2000 and made it the basis of Sun's Java tooling.

Through the 2000s NetBeans competed with Eclipse and IntelliJ IDEA as one of the three major Java IDEs, distinguished by its modularity and its early support for new Java features. It added profiler, GUI builder, and multi-language support for PHP, JavaScript, and C/C++.

Oracle acquired Sun in 2010 and inherited NetBeans. Oracle continued to develop it for a time but announced in 2016 that it would donate the project to Apache rather than continue commercial stewardship. The Apache Incubator period ran until 2019, when Apache NetBeans graduated to top-level project status.

Under Apache, the project releases on a roughly quarterly cadence through community contributors. Recent versions have continued Java-language support updates and quality-of-life improvements, with releases numbered through the mid-20s as of 2026. NetBeans remains one of the three major Java IDEs alongside IntelliJ IDEA and Eclipse, holding a smaller share than it once did but retaining a dedicated user base particularly in education and enterprise settings where Apache licensing matters.

About Oracle Corporation

Who owns Oracle?
Oracle is a publicly traded corporation with no controlling shareholder. The company trades on the NYSE under the ticker ORCL. Larry Ellison, co-founder and chairman, holds approximately 42 percent of outstanding shares, making him the largest individual shareholder. Major institutional shareholders include Vanguard Group, BlackRock, and State Street Global Advisors. No single shareholder holds a controlling majority.

Is Oracle publicly traded?
Yes, Oracle is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ORCL. The company has been publicly traded since its IPO in 1986. As of August 2026, Oracle's stock trades at approximately $146 per share, making it one of the largest technology companies by market capitalization.

What is Oracle's annual revenue?
Oracle reported FY2026 total revenue of $67.4 billion, up 17 percent year over year. Cloud revenue was $34.0 billion, up 39 percent, including IaaS revenue of $18.1 billion (up 77 percent) and SaaS revenue of $15.9 billion (up 11 percent). GAAP earnings per share were $5.83, up 34 percent. Oracle has guided to FY2027 revenue of $90 billion.

Who are Oracle's CEOs?
Clay Magouyrk and Mike Sicilia serve as Co-CEOs of Oracle Corporation, appointed in September 2025. Magouyrk previously led Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and oversees the cloud infrastructure business. Sicilia previously led Oracle Industries and focuses on enterprise applications. Safra Catz, who served as CEO from 2014 to 2025, is now Executive Vice Chair of the Board. Larry Ellison remains chairman and CTO.

What is Oracle Cloud Infrastructure?
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) is Oracle's cloud computing platform providing IaaS services, including compute, storage, networking, and AI infrastructure. OCI is the fastest-growing cloud infrastructure provider, with Q4 FY2026 revenue of $5.8 billion, up 93 percent year over year. OCI is designed for high-performance AI training and inference workloads and serves customers including OpenAI, Meta, xAI, Nvidia, and AMD.

What is Oracle's RPO?
Oracle's remaining performance obligations (RPO) reached a record $638 billion as of May 31, 2026, up $85 billion from the prior quarter. RPO represents contracted future revenue that has not yet been recognized. Bank of America analysts estimate that over 50 percent of RPO comes from OpenAI. Oracle noted that $75 billion of its large AI contracts involve prepaid or customer-supplied hardware, reducing the capital Oracle must raise.

How many employees does Oracle have?
Oracle employs approximately 164,000 people worldwide. The company has significant operations in North America, Europe, Asia, and other regions, with headquarters in Austin, Texas, and major facilities in Redwood Shores, California, and other global locations.

What is Oracle's AI strategy?
Oracle's AI strategy focuses on providing cloud infrastructure for AI training and inference, connecting AI models directly to Oracle Database through the Oracle AI Data Platform, and building AI-powered enterprise applications. The company is positioning OCI as the primary cloud platform for AI workloads, with data centers designed to use clean energy from natural gas fuel cells. Key AI customers include OpenAI, Meta, xAI, Nvidia, and AMD.

Founded: 1977
Headquarters: Austin, Texas, USA
Company Type: Publicly Traded
Stock: NYSE: ORCL
Revenue: $67.4B (FY2026)
Employees: ~164,000

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Where Is NetBeans Made / Based?

Headquarters: Apache Software Foundation, Forest Hill, Maryland, USA

NetBeans Categories & Tags

Ide Developer Tools Open Source Java Apache

NetBeans Ownership: Pros & Cons

Advantages

+Apache governance means no single company can end the project or change its licensing.
+Community-driven releases keep pace with Java versions without commercial roadmap constraints.
+The Apache license removes licensing friction for enterprise adoption.
+Tight Java integration and free availability preserve a loyal user base.

Considerations

-No commercial backing means development pace depends entirely on volunteer contribution.
-NetBeans trails IntelliJ IDEA on polish, ecosystem plugins, and market share.
-The brand has no marketing engine; visibility depends on community word-of-mouth.
-As a community project it lacks the support guarantees enterprises pay commercial vendors for.

Frequently Asked Questions About NetBeans

Sources & Further Reading

Competitors to NetBeans

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Brand	Parent Company	Country	Founded	Market Position	Primary Market	Gender Target
GitHub	Microsoft	USA	2008	Mass market	Global	All-ages
JavaSister Brand	Oracle	USA	1995	Mass market	Global	All Genders