Loading organizations...
Key people at OpenPOWER.
The OpenPOWER Foundation provides an open ecosystem built around the Power ISA, offering core specifications for processor, firmware, and software. It empowers member companies to design and customize advanced server, networking, and storage hardware. The initiative promotes a collaborative model, allowing partners to openly license microprocessor technology for varied hardware integrations.
IBM initiated the OpenPOWER Consortium on August 6, 2013, with co-founders including Google, Mellanox, NVIDIA, and Tyan. IBM's insight involved opening its proprietary Power Architecture and related technologies. This strategic decision sought to accelerate innovation and foster a broader, accessible hardware and software development landscape.
The foundation supports a server vendor ecosystem aiming for customized hardware solutions in data centers and cloud computing. Its vision is to cultivate a dynamic community driving continuous advancement of the Power ISA architecture. Through open collaboration, OpenPOWER strives to deliver flexible, high-performance computing capabilities.
Key people at OpenPOWER.
OpenPOWER is not a company, but rather a collaborative foundation and open-source project hosted by The Linux Foundation.[1] The premise of your query contains an inaccuracy that's important to clarify before proceeding.
The OpenPOWER Foundation is a nonprofit technical membership organization created to democratize access to IBM's POWER processor architecture and foster open innovation in hardware and software development.[1][3] Rather than building products for sale, OpenPOWER serves as a governance body and collaborative ecosystem that enables its 350+ member organizations—including IBM, Google, NVIDIA, Hitachi, and others—to develop customized hardware and software solutions around the POWER Instruction Set Architecture (ISA).[1][4]
The foundation's core mission is to advance open standards and specifications for systems designed around the POWER architecture, particularly for data-intensive workloads like artificial intelligence, supercomputing, and hybrid cloud environments.[1] Members gain the ability to license POWER processor blueprints, customize CPU designs, and collaborate on innovations spanning hardware, firmware, and software stacks without proprietary restrictions.[3]
The OpenPOWER Consortium was announced by IBM on August 6, 2013, as IBM's strategic initiative to open up its proprietary processor technology.[3] IBM co-founded the organization with the goal of enabling the server vendor ecosystem to build customized hardware for data centers and cloud computing.[3] The foundation grew rapidly, reaching over 350 members within its first six years.[2]
A pivotal moment came in August 2019, when IBM announced that the OpenPOWER Foundation would transition from an independent organization to become a project hosted by The Linux Foundation.[1] This move signaled deeper integration with the broader open-source ecosystem and provided additional governance assurance for software developers building AI and cloud-native applications on POWER architecture.[1]
OpenPOWER addresses a critical trend: the shift toward specialized, customized processors for specific workloads rather than one-size-fits-all commodity chips. As AI, supercomputing, and hyperscale data centers demand increasingly sophisticated architectures, OpenPOWER enables organizations to innovate without being locked into proprietary vendor ecosystems.[4]
The foundation's timing has been strategic. By opening the POWER ISA during the rise of GPU acceleration and AI workloads, OpenPOWER positioned itself as an alternative to x86 dominance, particularly attractive to organizations seeking vendor independence and customization capabilities.[3] The integration with The Linux Foundation further embedded OpenPOWER within the broader open-source infrastructure movement, amplifying its influence across the industry.[1]
OpenPOWER represents a model of open innovation in hardware—rare territory where a major technology vendor (IBM) genuinely shares intellectual property and governance with competitors and partners. Rather than competing as a company, OpenPOWER succeeds by enabling its members to compete more effectively in their respective markets.
The foundation's future influence will likely grow as AI and specialized computing demands intensify. Organizations increasingly value the ability to customize silicon for their specific needs, and OpenPOWER's open governance model positions it as a credible alternative to proprietary architectures. The key to sustained relevance will be maintaining active collaboration among its diverse membership and continuing to evolve the POWER ISA to meet emerging computational challenges.
