{"id":2990143,"date":"2025-04-13T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-13T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/?p=2990143"},"modified":"2025-04-11T21:13:17","modified_gmt":"2025-04-12T04:13:17","slug":"jim-zemlin-on-taking-a-portfolio-approach-to-linux-foundation-projects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2025\/04\/13\/jim-zemlin-on-taking-a-portfolio-approach-to-linux-foundation-projects\/","title":{"rendered":"Jim Zemlin on taking a ‘portfolio approach’ to Linux Foundation projects"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Linux Foundation<\/a> has become something of a misnomer through the years. It has extended far beyond its roots as the steward of the Linux kernel, emerging as a sprawling umbrella outfit for a thousand open source projects spanning cloud infrastructure<\/a>, security<\/a>, digital wallets<\/a>, enterprise search<\/a>, fintech<\/a>, maps<\/a>, and more.<\/p>\n\n

Last month, the OpenInfra Foundation — best known for OpenStack<\/a> — became the latest addition to its<\/a> stable, further cementing the Linux Foundation’s status as a “foundation of foundations.”<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Linux Foundation emerged in 2007<\/a> from the amalgamation of two Linux-focused not-for-profits: the Open Source Development Labs (OSDL<\/a>) and the Free Standards Group (FSG<\/a>). With founding members such as IBM, Intel, and Oracle, the Foundation’s\u00a0raison d’\u00eatre\u00a0was challenging the “closed” platforms of that time — which basically meant doubling down on Linux in response to Windows’ domination.<\/p>\n\n

“Computing is entering a world dominated by two platforms: Linux and Windows,” the Linux Foundation’s executive director, Jim Zemlin<\/a> (pictured above),\u00a0said at the time<\/a>. “While being managed under one roof has given Windows some consistency, Linux offers freedom of choice, customization and flexibility without forcing customers into vendor lock-in.”<\/p>\n\n

A “portfolio approach”<\/h2>\n\n

Zemlin has led the charge at the Linux Foundation for some two decades, overseeing its transition through technological waves such as mobile<\/a>, cloud<\/a>, and — more recently — artificial intelligence<\/a>. Its evolution from Linux-centricity to covering just about every technological nook is reflective of how technology itself doesn’t stand still — it evolves and, more importantly, it intersects.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cTechnology goes up and down \u2014 we\u2019re not using iPods or floppy disks anymore,\u201d Zemlin explained to TechCrunch in an interview during KubeCon<\/a> in London last week. \u201cWhat I realized early on was that if the Linux Foundation were to become an enduring body for collective software development, we needed to be able to bet on many different forms of technology.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

This is what Zemlin refers to as a \u201cportfolio approach,” similar to how a company diversifies so it\u2019s not dependent on the success of a single product. Combining multiple critical projects under a single organization enables the Foundation to benefit from vertical-specific expertise in networking or automotive-grade Linux, for example, while tapping broader expertise in copyright, patents, data privacy, cybersecurity, marketing, and event organization.<\/p>\n

\n\t
<\/div>\n\t