excuse my ingnorance, but firefox is also an open source browser afaik. The only advantage that ladybird us is that it turns the duopoly of browser engines into a tri-opoly- so what is the point? Why wouldn't this money be better spent enhancing another browser engine like whatever midori runs on? Why does Ladybird need to exist, and why are so many companies becoming sponsors? Not trying to ruffle feathers, genuinely curious
The Firefox browser is built by the Mozilla organization. Mozilla depends upon funding from Google to survive, and over time, has become used to spending lots of money each year (since it arrives "free" from Google). Should Google turn off that tap, Mozilla and Firefox would very likely struggle to survive.
So, some people feel that it'd be better to have a viable browser that isn't dependent upon Google.
I don't see how ladybird's funding model is fundamentally different, other than Google isn't funding it. The only difference is that ladybird is in it's infancy and still has time to grow into the corpo-money-dependent organization you describe.
Besides, has ladybird even said that they would reject google money if offered it? Or amazon? or any other large corporation that could seriously stifle the free web?