Red Hat

Red Hat provides open-source software solutions for enterprise IT, specializing in operating systems, cloud platforms, containers, automation, and middleware. Its flagship products include Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), OpenShift, and Ansible. The company also sponsors Fedora, a community-supported Linux distribution that serves as an upstream to RHEL.

Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, Red Hat is a pioneer in commercializing Linux and is one of the largest corporate contributors to the Linux kernel. The company operates on a business model of selling enterprise subscriptions, support, training, and services built around open-source software.

In July 2019, Red Hat was acquired by IBM for approximately $34 billion, making it one of the largest software acquisitions ever recorded. It continues to operate as a distinct subsidiary of IBM while retaining its own brand.