The topic The EU is betting over €1 million that KDE can challenge Microsoft’s desktop… is currently the subject of lively discussion — readers and analysts are keeping a close eye on developments.
This is taking place in a dynamic environment: companies’ decisions and competitors’ reactions can quickly change the picture.
The technological world of the European Union has been having a major shake-up recently. Rattled by how much they depend on proprietary software in key areas of government and public services, the EU has been working to break free from closed-source software and move toward more open-source options. For instance, France’s government is ditching Windows for Linux after calling US tech dependence a strategic risk.
Unfortunately, the world of open-source software has a common problem: people are more than happy to use it, but not so many are keen to support it. And while there are plenty of ways to support an open-source project, from contributing to the code and documentation to financial donations, the strictly user crowd is far bigger. In a bid to help the open-source software community, the Sovereign Tech Fund has invested over €1 million in KDE.
On the KDE blog, the community announced it has received a €1,285,200 investment from the Sovereign Tech Fund. KDE, in response, promises to use this money to “push its essential software products to the next level, providing every individual, business, and public administration with the opportunity to regain their privacy, security, and control over their digital sovereignty.”
Fiona Krakenbürger, Technical Director at the Sovereign Tech Agency, seems to be very pleased with how KDE has been operating:
We are investing in KDE because it is one of the two major desktop environments used across Linux and plays a key role in how millions of people experience open technologies. Strengthening KDE’s testing infrastructure, security architecture, and communication frameworks is how we invest in the resilience and reliability of the core digital infrastructure that modern society depends on.
The best part is that because KDE is open to anyone, the EU’s investment will also benefit everyone who uses it, regardless of their country of origin. That’s the joy of investments like these; even if you live in the US, you can benefit from the EU’s digital sovereignty push to wean off American tech.