Google and the Linux Foundation establish 'Supporters of Chromium-Based Browsers' fund to support the development and maintenance of Chromium, with participation from Meta, Microsoft, and others

Google, which is developing the open source browser development project Chromium, and the Linux Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports the open source ecosystem, have announced the launch of ' Supporters of Chromium-Based Browsers ,' a development fund for Chromium-based browsers.

Chromium Blog: Announcing Supporters of Chromium-based Browsers

https://blog.chromium.org/2025/01/announcing-supporters-of-chromium-based.html

Linux Foundation Announces the Launch of Supporters of Chromium-Based Browsers
https://www.linuxfoundation.org/press/linux-foundation-announces-the-launch-of-supporters-of-chromium-based-browsers

Chromium is a project to develop a free and open source web browser, which has been led by Google since 2008. Web browsers developed based on Chromium include Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Opera, and others.

Below is a graph showing the contributions to Chromium at the time of writing. Google (orange) made over 100,000 commits, accounting for 94% of the total.

Google says, 'We continue to invest heavily in the shared infrastructure of our open source projects. To keep our projects up and running, we constantly run millions of tests on thousands of servers, address hundreds of bugs every day, ensure that critical bugs are fixed, and continually invest in the health of our code to keep our projects maintainable. This represents an investment of hundreds of millions of dollars (tens of billions of yen) per year.'

While the Chromium project itself will follow current governance practices, the Supporters of Chromium-Based Browsers will be managed by the Linux Foundation and will prioritize transparency, inclusivity, and community-driven development. A Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) will also be formed to guide development and ensure it meets the needs of the broader Chromium community.

'With the launch of Supporters of Chromium-Based Browsers, we are taking another step toward strengthening the open source community,' said Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation. 'This project will provide funding and development support for open development of projects within the Chromium ecosystem.'

In addition to Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Opera are early members of Supporters of Chromium-Based Browsers. Microsoft Vice President of Edge Megan Perez commented, 'Microsoft is pleased to join Supporters of Chromium-Based Browsers, which promotes collaboration within the Chromium ecosystem. This initiative is consistent with our commitment to the web platform through meaningful and active contributions, participation in joint development, and partnerships with the community to achieve the best results for everyone who uses the web.'

'With the incredible support of the Linux Foundation, we see this as an important opportunity to create a sustainable platform that supports industry drivers, academia, developers, and the broader open source community in the continued development and innovation of the Chromium ecosystem,' said Parisa Tavris, vice president of Chrome at Google.