5 Years of Open Source, Creating 20 Million in Value — Yet 800K in Debt

2026-03-26 · Author: Leafer

Hello everyone, I’m Leafer, growing like a tree (Wan Chao).

It’s that time of year again—spring is here, flowers are blooming, and willow trees are sprouting. It has been exactly two years since I wrote “Blooming in Desperation.” Over these two years, the LeaferJS engine has grown stronger and more mature, and my journey in open-source entrepreneurship has entered its fifth year.

It’s been a long time since I sat down to share updates with everyone. Today, let’s have a proper chat.

The Beginning

How hard is it to build a top-tier open-source graphics engine?

My answer: so hard that it takes five years, betting all your energy, savings, and even your health—on something that may never truly have an end.

A professional once estimated that building an engine at this level would require at least 20 million RMB in team costs, and even then, success is not guaranteed.

And for me, all of that became a single number: 800,000 RMB in debt.

This 800K wasn’t spent recklessly—it was the real money I poured over five years to survive in Beijing, to keep LeaferJS (hereafter referred to as Leafer) running, developing, and evolving—to keep it alive.

Fortunately, I made it. Those who’ve used it say it’s the most powerful and best-performing domestic engine they’ve experienced. But unfortunately, I haven’t had enough visibility to let more people who need it know it exists.

01. The New Gray Hair

These five years have been full of struggles, but I never strayed from my ideals.

I remember the hardest times—I borrowed from nearly every bank I could, until there was nothing left to borrow.

That feeling of being cornered, on the brink of becoming financially blacklisted, still lingers vividly. Thankfully, at every breaking point, someone would step in to help.

Before I knew it, in my thirties, strands of gray hair had appeared on my forehead and temples.

So if you see them in future videos or livestreams, don’t be surprised — they are proof of these difficult five years, and the price I paid for my ideals.

02. A Path Few Are Willing to Take

I chose a path that almost no one wants to take—a path that could reshape the industry.

Because what Leafer solves is the “dirtiest, hardest” part of internet infrastructure: enabling professional-level performance and smooth interaction in graphics rendering, complex interaction, graphic editing, and AI infinite canvas scenarios.

This kind of foundational tool takes a very long time to develop, and open source itself does not directly generate revenue.

I’ve seen it take root and grow across industries:

• Used for architectural drawing, poster editing, AI short dramas
• Used to build complex animation software and AI infinite canvases
• Used to create professional AI design tools
• Used for container monitoring at ports and real-time tunnel operations
• Used for million-node production data visualization

It has quietly served hundreds of thousands of developers and companies. If AI infinite canvas products like Lovart or TapNow adopted this engine, their canvas interactions would become incredibly smooth.

In terms of monetary value:

Leafer has already created tens of millions—possibly even hundreds of millions—in commercial value, saving companies and teams five full years of foundational R&D costs.

03. “20 Million Value” vs “800K Debt”

Yet reality is full of dark irony.

Few people know that to sustain all this, I’ve personally accumulated over 800K in debt.

That 800K built the rise of a domestic graphics engine, laid the foundation for a future ecosystem of millions of developers, and pushed my limits in low-level technology.

Many people don’t understand: if it created so much value, why am I still in debt?

This is the harsh truth of open source: the more mature the technology, the more invisible it becomes—and the easier it is for its creator to be forgotten.

04. Giving Open Source a Lifeline

I realized that passion alone cannot sustain an engine, nor can it provide long-term support for developers who trust it.

So, PxGrow was born.

It is the sustainable path I designed for Leafer. By offering optional advanced plugins and enterprise-level support, I aim to build a healthy business loop:

Leafer remains forever open-source and free, while advanced commercial scenarios are empowered through PxGrow.

Seeing more and more companies solve their painful business problems through paid plugins is deeply rewarding. It means Leafer now has the ability to sustain itself and continue evolving.

This is not just about repaying the 800K debt—it’s about bringing in more allies to tackle the hardest “uncharted territories” in foundational technology.

05. Shifting to “Application-Driven”

Five years of struggle also made me realize:

If technology doesn’t lead to real applications, it becomes an endless race—and ordinary users will never feel its value.

In the AI era, I see new opportunities emerging.

This time, we won’t just provide “technology”—we will also participate in building super applications, allowing users to directly experience the power of underlying technology through AI infinite canvases.

06. Final Words

At the end of this article, I want to thank everyone who made it this far.

If you believe these five years of persistence deserve to be seen, please help share this story.

Let more people know that Chinese developers have the resilience to tackle foundational infrastructure. We not only dare to dream big, but also have the courage to grind through the hardest problems—no matter the cost.

Five years of persistence have not been easy, but I have never regretted it. Though risky, every day has been meaningful.

I want to express my deepest gratitude to my family for their unconditional support, to every friend who helped me along the way, and to everyone who has supported me.

This year, I’ve set a goal for myself: to repay the 800K debt and its interest.

Not just to honor those who helped me, but to give peace of mind to my family who have silently supported me.

This spring, Leafer will continue to grow like a tree—toward the sun, reaching upward.

Open Source Website: www.leaferjs.com Repository: github.com/leaferjs/leafer-ui