Google launches a ‘neutral’ Chromium development fund

Google launched Chromium alongside its Chrome web browser in 2008. It’s the open-source infrastructure that powers Chrome and many other browsers built on it, including Microsoft Edge, Opera, and Brave.

In addition to Google, there are already several notable companies on board with the initiative, including Meta, Microsoft, and Opera. Microsoft said joining will help “provide clear and open governance that directs funds towards community-driven needs.”

Google also highlighted the more than 100,000 commits it made to Chromium last year, as well as its efforts to “invest heavily” into the open-source project:

Google also continues to invest heavily in the shared infrastructure of the Open Source project to ‘keep the lights on’, including having thousands of servers endlessly running millions of tests, responding to hundreds of incoming bugs per day, ensuring the important ones get fixed, and constantly investing in code health to keep the whole project maintainable.

Even if Google is attempting to show the DOJ how much it contributes to Chromium, the creation of the Supporters of Chromium-Based Browsers suggests the open-source project would still have backing without the company’s involvement.