Linux Foundation & Google Form New Group to Manage Chromium – OMG! Ubuntu!

Collaborative embrace or cynical save? Google is teaming up with the Linux Foundation, Microsoft, Meta, and Opera to form a new Supporters of Chromium-Based Browsers group.Members of the group, managed by the Linux Foundation, will work together, pool resources, talent, time, and expertise to improve, innovate, and accelerate development of the open-source Chromium codebase.Why the Linux Foundation? Google cites their “long established practices for open governance, prioritizing transparency, inclusivity, and community-driven development.”For its part, Google says it has no intention of reducing its contributions to Chromium (which made up roughly 94 percent of all commits to the codebase in 2024), but will “welcome others stepping up to invest more.”Cynically speaking, the timing of this initiative is canny. The United States Department of Justice has called for a breakup of Google due its dominance, including a forced sell off Google Chrome. This group could help assuage anti-trust concerns over Chrome.After all, if rival tech companies, non-profits, and developers have a bigger role in Chromium’s development it lets Google argue Chrome is no that different to downstream browsers: Microsoft Edge, Opera, et al add features on top of Chromium, why can’t it?On a less cynical side, the Supporters of Chromium-based Browsers project could have a big impact on Chromium’s future. Google says it’s launched the initiative having heard from “many companies and developers about how critical the Chromium project is to their work” and want to give them more control over helping fund and sustain Chromium, “beyond direct engineering support.”Maintaining shared infrastructure all projects using Chromium benefit from is said to cost Google “hundreds of millions of US dollars in annual investment.”Having “thousands of servers endlessly running millions of tests, responding to hundreds of incoming bugs per day, […and] investing in code health to keep the whole project maintainable” doesn’t come cheap.So it is understandable Google may want downstream browsers building their own businesses off of Chromium to step up and contribute more, be it to the costs involved in running the project or working on those features which don’t benefit any one browser in particular.Is this Linux Foundation-led funding effort a win for open-source? Or could it hasten the creeping Chromium browser homogeny?One things is sure, more momentum behind Chromium means more concern for Mozilla Firefox. The Gecko-powered browser continues to melt marketshare – down to just 6% on desktop worldwide. By buying me a $2 coffee, you’re directly funding continued independent coverage of the Linux ecosystem—content for you, and for everyone!© 2025 Ohso Media

Source: https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/01/supporters-of-chromium-based-browsers-linux-foundation