June 07, 2012, 1:51 PM — It's been clear for some time that Samsung has a strong interest in Linux; but on Tuesday, the company put its money where its mouth is and made the $500,000 annual investment necessary to become a platinum member of the Linux Foundation.
In return, Samsung gains a seat on the foundation's board of directors and joins six other corporate investors at this highest membership level. The nonprofit consortium's other platinum members are Fujitsu, IBM, Intel, NEC, Qualcomm, and Oracle. Samsung was previously a silver sponsor.
'Support for Our Growing Portfolio'
"The Linux Foundation is an important organization," said WonJoo Park, vice president for Samsung Electronics, in the official announcement. "It brings the right people and resources together to help companies and developers advance Linux for everyone.
"We're looking forward to increasing collaboration and support for our growing portfolio of Linux-based devices and to making contributions that advance Linux for all," Park added.
Samsung uses Linux across multiple product lines. Its popular Galaxy series, for example, relies on Linux-based Android, while other consumer electronics products, such as TVs and home appliances, rely on Linux in other forms.
Last month, Samsung overtook Apple as the leader in the smartphone market, according to IDC.
A Competitive Strength
Then, of course, there's the Linux-based Tizen project, which offers great promise as a compelling Android alternative. Samsung has enthusiastically backed Tizen from the get-go, and last I heard it was still planning to merge its own Bada operating system into the project.
