Google has united teamed up with the Linux Foundation to create a new initiative called Chromium Browser Advocates. For now, most of the money that powers Chromium, the open-source web browser project that created the Chrome codebase, comes from Google. The company says it has no intention of reducing its contribution in the future, but also continues to “welcome others wishing to invest more.”
A new initiative led by the Linux Foundation aims to fund open development of Chromium projects and ensure that contributions that can lead to technological advancement are properly supported. It also aims to provide a “neutral space” where developers, academics and major industry players can work together. Besides Google, MicrosoftMeta and Opera have also announced their support for this initiative.
Google said it established the new program after hearing from “many companies and developers about how important the Chromium project is to their work” and that they wanted to provide it with more than just direct engineering support over the years. Chrome is just one of the browsers built on top of Chromium: Microsoft Edge and Opera are also based on the project's codebase, so their participation in the initiative is not a surprise.
It is worth noting that the Ministry of Justice called Google collapse last year, including the sale of the Chrome web browser. In its statement, Google said it intends to continue supporting the Chromium project, but only time will tell whether the sale of Chrome will impact its contributions.