The Linux Foundation has launched the Supporters of Chromium-Based Browsers initiative in an effort to fund open development of projects within the Chromium ecosystem.
The initiative will offer a neutral space for tech companies, academia, developers, and the open source community to come together and work on these projects. The Linux Foundation hopes it will also remove barriers to innovation, expand adoption, and provide resources to those projects.
According to the organization, Chromium projects will remain under their existing governance structures. Supporters of Chromium-Based Browsers will follow an open governance model and the Linux Foundation will also be working on forming a technical advisory committee to guide development of the initiative.
Several top tech companies have already pledged their support for this initiative, including Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Opera. Google is the primary developer and maintainer of Chromium, while Microsoft and Opera are also major contributors and their browsers are based on the Chromium engine.
“With the incredible support of the Linux Foundation, we believe the Supporters of Chromium-Based Browsers is an important opportunity to create a sustainable platform to support industry leaders, academia, developers, and the broader open source community in the continued development and innovation of the Chromium ecosystem,” said Parisa Tabriz, VP of Chrome at Google.
Meghan Perez, VP of Microsoft Edge, added: “This initiative aligns with our commitment to the web platform through meaningful and positive contributions, engagement in collaborative engineering, and partnerships with the community to achieve the best outcome for everyone using the web.”