Zulip.com has published its core values guiding the development of its team chat platform. The company emphasizes long-term sustainability, open source commitment, and community-driven development as foundational principles. Zulip has been actively developed since 2013, serving customers ranging from universities to open-source communities.

Unlike many modern "open-source" companies that cripple free versions, Zulip maintains 100% open source code with all features available in both self-hosted and cloud versions. The platform supports thousands of organizations worldwide, including major institutions like UCSD and TUM. Zulip's codebase is deliberately designed for readability and maintainability, with extensive documentation exceeding 185K words.

The company, Kandra Labs, operates without venture capital funding, instead relying on SBIR grants from the US National Science Foundation. This independence allows Zulip to prioritize user needs over investor demands. The platform sponsors free hosting for hundreds of organizations including open-source projects, research groups, and non-profits. With formal internship programs since 2016 and over 100 participants, Zulip actively cultivates the next generation of open-source contributors while maintaining a sustainable business model that aligns with its stated values.