How Big Companies Power Innovation: 20 Game-Changing Open Source Projects

Open source projects have been at the forefront of innovation, collaboration, and community-driven development. While many associate open source with independent developers or small teams, some of the biggest breakthroughs have been spearheaded or heavily supported by large corporations. These companies recognize the power of open source in fostering community involvement, creating shared solutions, and accelerating technological growth.

Here are 20 popular open source projects that were either started or are actively supported by some of the biggest names in tech.

1.? TensorFlow (Google)

One of the most widely used libraries for machine learning and deep learning, TensorFlow was developed by the Google Brain team. It has become the go-to framework for research, production, and even hobbyist machine learning projects. Google continues to maintain and develop the project, ensuring its position at the cutting edge of AI.?

2.??Kubernetes (Google)

Originally developed by Google, Kubernetes is now an open-source container orchestration platform that automates the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. Kubernetes has become an industry standard, and its impact on the cloud-native movement cannot be overstated.

3. React (Meta/Facebook)

React is a JavaScript library used to build user interfaces, primarily for web applications. Initially developed and released by Facebook, React has become one of the most popular front-end libraries in the world. It is actively maintained by both Facebook and the larger developer community.

4.??Visual Studio Code (Microsoft)

Visual Studio Code is a powerful, lightweight code editor that has quickly become a favorite among developers. Microsoft launched VS Code as an open-source project, contributing actively to its development while also relying on a strong community of contributors.

5.??Linux Kernel (Supported by Many)

The Linux Kernel, the backbone of many operating systems, is developed by a vast community of independent contributors and companies. Some of the most active corporate contributors include Intel, Google, and Red Hat, ensuring that Linux remains an industry staple across servers, desktops, and embedded devices.

6.??Angular (Google)

Another Google-backed project, Angular is a web application framework that has gained immense popularity for building dynamic single-page applications (SPAs). Google remains deeply involved in the project’s development, continually pushing new updates and features.

7.??Flutter (Google)

Flutter is an open-source UI toolkit from Google that allows developers to create natively compiled applications for mobile, web, and desktop from a single codebase. Its growing popularity is driven by its flexibility and the ever-growing ecosystem Google supports.

8. ?Docker (Docker Inc., Supported by Microsoft, AWS, and Others)

Docker revolutionized the way developers think about software development and deployment. Although Docker Inc. initiated the project, major cloud providers like AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft have embraced and contributed to Docker’s ecosystem, making it a vital tool in modern DevOps.

9.??Node.js (Joyent, Supported by IBM, Microsoft, and Google)

Node.js, a JavaScript runtime built on Chrome's V8 engine, was initially developed by Joyent. It has become the backbone of many server-side applications, with large companies like IBM, Google, and Microsoft heavily investing in its ecosystem.

10.? Git (Linux Torvalds, Supported by Microsoft, Atlassian, and GitHub)

While Git was originally created by Linus Torvalds for the Linux kernel development, its use has grown exponentially. Platforms like GitHub and Bitbucket (owned by Microsoft and Atlassian, respectively) have built entire ecosystems around Git, making it an indispensable tool in the software development lifecycle.

11.? ?Hadoop (Yahoo, Supported by Cloudera, Hortonworks)

Hadoop is an open-source framework that allows for distributed storage and processing of large datasets. Originally developed by Yahoo, Hadoop’s ecosystem has grown with contributions from major companies like Cloudera and Hortonworks, making it a foundational technology for big data solutions.

12.? Grafana (Grafana Labs, Supported by AWS, Microsoft)

Grafana is a leading open-source analytics and monitoring platform. While initially started by a small team, it has received major backing from AWS and Microsoft, particularly in the realms of cloud monitoring and performance tracking.

13.? Jenkins (Sun Microsystems, Supported by CloudBees, AWS)

Jenkins is a continuous integration and delivery server that automates parts of the software development process. Originally a Sun Microsystems project (later acquired by Oracle), Jenkins is supported by CloudBees and major cloud platforms like AWS.

14.? OpenStack (NASA and Rackspace, Supported by Red Hat, IBM, and Others)

OpenStack is an open-source cloud computing platform for building and managing public and private clouds. Initially developed by NASA and Rackspace, it now enjoys contributions from major enterprises like Red Hat and IBM.?

15.? ElasticSearch (Elastic NV, Supported by Microsoft, AWS)

ElasticSearch is an open-source search engine built on top of Apache Lucene. While Elastic NV initially developed it, both AWS and Microsoft Azure offer it as a managed service, contributing to its widespread adoption.

16.? PrestoDB (Meta/Facebook)

PrestoDB is a distributed SQL query engine for big data that was developed by Facebook. It has since been used by companies like Netflix and Uber, proving its robustness for querying large datasets at scale.

17.? ?Spinnaker (Netflix, Supported by Google, AWS)

Spinnaker is an open-source continuous delivery platform developed by Netflix. Both Google and AWS are active contributors, helping to evolve the tool as a core element of their cloud ecosystems.

18.? Istio (Google, IBM, and Lyft)

Istio is an open-source service mesh that provides a way to control and observe microservices architectures. It was developed through a collaboration between Google, IBM, and Lyft, becoming a core technology in managing cloud-native applications.

19.? Prometheus (SoundCloud, Supported by Google, Red Hat, and others)

Prometheus is a leading open-source monitoring and alerting toolkit, originally built by SoundCloud. It is now part of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) and has major corporate support from Google and Red Hat.?

20.? Apache Kafka (LinkedIn, Supported by Confluent, Microsoft, and AWS)

Apache Kafka is an open-source distributed event streaming platform developed by LinkedIn. Today, it is supported by Confluent (founded by Kafka’s original developers) and is widely adopted by enterprises like Microsoft and AWS for real-time data processing.

Conclusion

Open source isn't just a grassroots movement anymore—it's a vital component of the modern tech landscape. These projects, developed or supported by large corporations, demonstrate how collaboration between big companies and the open-source community can drive innovation and create tools that benefit everyone. Whether you're a developer, a business leader, or a tech enthusiast, these open-source initiatives are shaping the future of technology, one contribution at a time.