this post was submitted on 19 Jun 2026
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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Arguably the biggest contributor to the Linux ecosystem is Red Hat, a for-profit company that offers its technologies to the Israeli military among other things. The biggest contributor to the Linux kernel is Red Hat, while the second biggest is Meta. The Linux ecosystem is not inherently nonprofit!
Wow I went to fact check that claim and it's actually no exaggeration. Here is the AP article.
Crazy to see Palantir, Google, Microsoft mentioned alongside ...Red Hat.
If it helps to explain it, Red Hat is owned by IBM.
No love lost for IBM but I still wouldn't expect to see casually mentioned alongside Palantir.
It's red from all the blood? well, fuck
~~Why do you make the argument that Red Hat is the biggest contributor?~~
~~Searching Linux contributor breakdown by organization puts them tied for 3rd at ~7%.~~
https://insights.linuxfoundation.org/project/korg/contributors?timeRange=past365days&start=2025-06-19&end=2026-06-19
https://commandlinux.com/statistics/linux-kernel-contributors-lines-of-code-statistics/
~~Don't get me wrong. Intel leading the corporate contributions is worse. lol~~
All-time contributions are led by Red Hat at 15%. Many top organizational contributors guilty of profiting from the genocidal industrial complex. Maybe TempleOS was the true alternative.
In the first link, look at the parameters in the link. It is for last 365 days. If you take all time, it is Red Hat.
To be explicit: I don't like Red Hat.
I see. Ty
Pardon, I remembered it so from a graph I saw a few months ago. Perhaps I misremembered, or perhaps things changed since then
You were right. Red Hat leads all time.
All the major organizational contributors are guilty off profiting from genocide. TempleOS might be the one true alternative.
Oh... shoot... TIL, thanks!