The Open Infrastructure Foundation, the organization behind the OpenStack project, has announced plans to join the Linux Foundation, a move that will unite three of the world's largest and most active open-source projects under one umbrella. This development comes as enterprises seek alternatives to proprietary cloud solutions, and the OpenStack project experiences a resurgence in popularity.

Launched in 2010 as a joint project between Rackspace and NASA, OpenStack aimed to provide an open-source alternative for running cloud infrastructure within private data centers. Over the years, the project has faced its share of challenges, leading to a rename of the OpenStack Foundation to the Open Infrastructure Foundation in 2021. Despite this, the foundation has continued to shepherd the project, as well as other initiatives such as Kata Containers, Airship, Zuul, and StarlingX.

The merger with the Linux Foundation will bring together three of the world's largest open-source projects: Linux, Kubernetes, and OpenStack. This move is expected to drive collaboration and innovation in the open-source community, particularly in the areas of cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and edge computing. The Open Infrastructure Foundation's executive director, Jonathan Bryce, noted that the data center infrastructure market is undergoing a fundamental transformation, driven by the demands of AI, virtualization migration, and digital sovereignty.

The Linux Foundation's executive director, Jim Zemlin, emphasized the rich history of partnership and closely linked communities between the two organizations, which will propel their shared mission to advocate for and advance the power and promise of open source. The merger is expected to accelerate the development, deployment, and shaping of a future where open source continues to thrive.

The implications of this merger are significant, particularly for enterprises seeking to reduce their dependence on proprietary cloud solutions. With the Open Infrastructure Foundation operating within the Linux Foundation, the combined resources and expertise will drive innovation and adoption of open-source solutions. The future of the OpenInfra Foundation's staffing remains to be seen, but the organization's strong momentum, with a 15% increase in member organizations and surging adoption of OpenStack, bodes well for the success of this merger.

In a statement, Julia Kreger, chair of the OpenInfra Board of Directors, highlighted the thriving projects within the foundation, including OpenStack, Kata Containers, StarlingX, and Zuul, which will leverage the power of open source and set the stage for continued success in building the next decade of infrastructure.

This development marks a significant shift in the open-source landscape, and its impact will be closely watched by the tech community. As the Open Infrastructure Foundation joins the Linux Foundation, it's clear that the future of open-source innovation has never been brighter.