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What is The Linux Foundation?

The Linux Foundation is a nonprofit consortium dedicated to fostering the growth of Linux. Founded in 2000, it sponsors the work of Linux creator Linus Torvalds and is supported by leading companies and developers from around the world. The Linux Foundation promotes, protects and standardizes Linux by providing unified resources and services needed for open source to successfully compete with closed platforms.

Who are members of the Linux Foundation?

The founding platinum members of the Linux Foundation are Fujitsu, Hitachi, HP, IBM, Intel, NEC, Novell, and Oracle. Other members of the organization include every major company in the Linux industry as well as numerous community groups, universities and individuals. You can see the full line up on our Members page.

Where is the Linux Foundation located?

The Linux Foundation has offices in San Francisco and Tokyo, with additional staff in Indiana, Texas and Canada. Here is our contact info.

Why was The Linux Foundation formed?

The Linux Foundation's mission is to promote, protect and standardize the Linux platform to fuel its growth around the world. The Linux Foundation marshals the resources of the Linux ecosystem to provide much needed services that are not easily offered by a single community member, entity or company. It uses a shared resources strategy – much as open source developers do – to collaborate on platform development while enhancing the Linux market for everyone: end users, the community, developers and industry..

Does Linus Torvalds work for The Linux Foundation?

The Linux Foundation sponsors Linus Torvalds so he can remain independent while working full-time on the Linux kernel.

Who leads the Linux Foundation?

Jim Zemlin is the Executive Director and was chosen to lead the Linux Foundation due to his deep Linux and open source software experience and industry relationships.

The management team includes:

  • Jim Zemlin, Executive Director
  • Mike Woster, COO & Vice President, Business Development
  • Amanda McPherson, Vice President of Marketing and Developer Programs
  • Noriaki Fukuyasu, Director of Linux Foundation Japan

How do I become a member of the Linux Foundation?

Please proceed to our Membership page for more information on becoming a Corporate or Individual member.

How do I get involved with the Linux Foundation?

There are plenty of ways to for individuals and companies to get involved with the Linux foundation. Please see our Membership section for more details.

To find out how your organization can benefit from the Linux Foundation, contact:

info (at) linuxfoundation dot org
General contact for The Linux Foundation

memberservices (at) linuxfoundation dot org
For membership questions or comments

press (at) linuxfoundation dot org
For press questions or comments

events (at) linuxfoundation dot org
For information on attending or speaking at our events