Linux Foundation to give open source community a helping hand 

The Linux Foundation says that open source “historically has produced high quality and highly secure software”, but developer communities do not receive the financial backing they need to maintain the software. The OpenSSL project, for example, typically receives only $2,000 per year in donations.  

The Core Infrastructure Initiative is backed by companies such as Amazon Web Services, Cisco, Dell, Facebook, Google, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, NetApp, and VMware, and will provide funding for open source projects while allowing developers to continue working in their own open source communities.

“We are expanding the work we already do for the Linux kernel to other projects that may need support,” said Jim Zemlin, executive director, The Linux Foundation. “Our global economy is built on top of many open source projects. Just as The Linux Foundation has funded Linus Torvalds to be able to focus 100 per cent on Linux development, we will now be able to support additional developers and maintainers to work full-time supporting other essential open source projects. We are thankful for these industry leaders’ commitment to ensuring the continued growth and reliability of critical open source projects such as OpenSSL.”

The decision to move forward with the initiative was made in part because of the unfolding Heartbleed crisis, and the OpenSSL project is currently under consideration as the first recipient of funding from the Linux Foundation.

The OpenSSL project – and others like it – stands to receive fellowship funding for key developers, security audits, computing and test infrastructure, travel, face-to-face consultations, and more.

“By creating the Core Infrastructure Initiative, the Linux Foundation has once again stepped up to the challenge of supporting open source projects at the heart of today’s Internet,” said Colin Kincaid, VP, Product Management and Architecture, Cisco. “Supporting dedicated open source collaborators and contributors is vital to the success and growth of innovation.”

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