How much is the entity that manages the Microsoft IE-killing browser Firefox worth, and when will it go public? Answers: 1) A lot, and 2) Probably this year or next.

Background:

In the past few years, Mozilla’s open-source Firefox browser has done what most people would have considered impossible, which is chip away at Microsoft’s choke-hold on the browser market. Considering Microsoft’s advantages in this market–Internet Explorer comes pre-installed on nearly every PC–this is nothing short of amazing.

Estimates of Firefox’s current penetration vary, but most put the browser’s share at more than 15% (with 100 million+ downloads). On SAI, which obviously has tech-savvy readers, Firefox accounts for a full 42.3% of visits, only half a point less than IE’s 42.7% (Apple’s Safari accounts for most of the rest, with 13%). This shows the extent of Firefox’s encroachment on what was once Microsoft’s turf, as well as the amount of market growth opportunity left.

So how much is Firefox/Mozilla worth?

Any analysis has to start with the fact that, so far, Mozilla hasn’t made much of an effort to build a business. The company’s main revenue stream is simply per-browser carriage revenue for that little Google search box you see in the upper right corner of your browser tool bar–about $1 per download, according to some estimates. Even without slamming the accelerator to the floor, there’s a lot more where that came from (advertising on the default landing page, for example).

Check out full article at Silicon Alley Insider.