Intel has made significant contributions to the Linux kernel in recent times and has managed to surpass Red Hat as the top contributor.
The annual "Who writes Linux?" report was released by the Linux Foundation to reveal critical numbers regarding the development of the open source software. Many enterprises have been involved with the Linux Foundation over the years but major contributions have always been from traditional Linux companies such as Red Hat, IBM and SUSE.
According to the report for 2014, Intel made the most contributions to the Linux kernel development efforts, surpassing last year"s leader, Red Hat. The remaining contributors from the top 10 include Linaro, Samsung, IBM, SUSE, Texas Instruments, Vision Engraving Systems, Google and Renesas.
Intel has been developing hardware for the Linux-based Android OS in recent times and has contributed kernel patches for Linux. It has been revealed that Intel engineers made nearly 10,000 changes to the Linux Kernel so far. The report also aims to bust the myth of contributors being unpaid enthusiasts, as it mentions the rise in paid developers and increased hiring in top companies for Linux specialists.
Although, Linux is largely irrelevant on the desktop, it has gained plenty of ground through Android and various internet of things devices and we will surely see more contributions coming from newer companies in the future.
You can access the full report here.