Google introduces a fund for the "neutral" development of Chromium.

Google has formed a partnership with The Linux Foundation to launch an initiative aimed at “funding open development and enhancing projects” within the Chromium ecosystem, as announced on Thursday. This fund, called Supporters of Chromium-Based Browsers, is presented as a “neutral” space to support projects related to Chromium.

Chromium was developed by Google concurrently with its Chrome browser in 2008. It is the open-source infrastructure that powers Chrome and other browsers built upon it, such as Microsoft Edge, Opera, and Brave. In addition to Google, several major companies are already involved in the initiative, including Meta, Microsoft, and Opera. Microsoft indicated that its participation will help “provide clear and open governance to direct the funds towards community-driven needs.”

Google also highlighted the more than 100,000 commits it made to Chromium last year, as well as its intention to “significantly invest” in this open-source project. The company continues to invest in the shared infrastructure of the project, maintaining thousands of servers that conduct millions of tests daily. This includes addressing hundreds of issues that come in each day, ensuring that the most relevant ones are fixed, as well as focusing on the health of the code to keep the project sustainable.

The creation of the Supporters of Chromium-Based Browsers initiative comes months after the United States Department of Justice demanded that Google sell Chrome as part of proposed measures after determining that Google acts as a monopolist. In response, Google suggested removing exclusive agreements that position it as the default search engine in browsers like Safari and Mozilla for three years. While Google aims to demonstrate to the DOJ its contribution to Chromium, the formation of this new initiative suggests that the open-source project could continue to receive support even without the direct involvement of the company.