“Open source has changed a lot, and what a project needs out of a foundation in 2025 is quite different from what a project needed in 2010 or 2012 when we were starting the OpenStack foundation,” Bryce said. “Governments are very interested in open source, and we have to make sure that we are participating in the right way to understand and comply with policies.”
The Linux Foundation has had multiple efforts in recent years to engage with governments around the world on multiple topics, including open-source security, via its OpenSSF (Open Secure Software Foundation). Bryce noted that in his view, the Linux Foundation has wisely invested in legal and regulatory and advocacy capabilities that will benefit OpenStack.
Being part of the Linux Foundation will also bring operational efficiencies to Open Stack for event management as well.
Mark Collier, chief operating officer at the OpenInfra Foundation, noted that the community had already been doing joint events as OpenStack is commonly deployed alongside CNCF technologies.
Bracing for the AI wave
A key factor behind the move is the rise of artificial intelligence and the massive infrastructure investments required to support it.
“There’s going to be a trillion dollars in infrastructure built out just for accelerated compute, and it’s a huge opportunity for OpenStack,” Bryce said. “Everybody is going to need infrastructure software to power all that.”
