SUSE Donates USD 11,500 to The Perl and Raku Foundation

Aug 7, 2025 by Olaf Alders

The Perl and Raku Foundation (TPRF) is thrilled to announce a substantial $11,500 donation from SUSE, one of the world’s leading enterprise Linux and cloud-native and AI solutions providers. This generous contribution bolsters the Perl 5 Core Maintenance Fund and demonstrates SUSE’s commitment to the open-source ecosystem.

This donation from SUSE is actually made up of two parts. $10,000 is being donated by SUSE LLC and an additional $1,500 is being provided by The SUSE Open Source Network, to support the development and sustainability of Perl. This aligns with the network’s mission to empower and support open source communities.

Perl is a Fundamental Component of the SUSE Ecosystem

“At SUSE, Perl is a fundamental component and member of our ecosystem,” explains Miguel Pérez Colino, Director of Operations, Linux Product Management & Marketing. “We provide it as part of our Linux offerings by actively supporting Perl packages in SUSE Linux Enterprise and openSUSE. We use it extensively in our toolset, powering among others OpenQA and Open Build Service, this last one is used to build not just Linux packages but also Kubernetes.”

The Perl-Powered OpenQA and Open Build Service

SUSE’s OpenQA project is an automated testing framework that ensures quality across countless hardware configurations and software combinations. At its heart is Perl, orchestrating complex test scenarios with the reliability that system administrators have come to expect.

Similarly, Open Build Service is running on many services written in Perl. represents the modern evolution of package management, creating not just traditional Linux packages but also container images and Kubernetes distributions.

Sustaining the Digital Commons

SUSE’s donation is a demonstration of digital stewardship—the recognition that the tools we rely upon require active investment to remain secure, efficient, and relevant.

“We are proudly donating to The Perl and Raku Foundation (TPRF) to ensure Perl’s continued development and health, which is vital to the open-source world, we are part of, and we champion,” Colino continues.

This investment addresses some critical aspects of language maintenance:

Security Vigilance: In an era of increasing cyber threats, timely security patches aren’t optional—they’re essential. TPRF’s maintenance fund ensures that vulnerabilities can be addressed promptly, protecting countless systems worldwide.

Performance Evolution: Modern computing demands continue to evolve. The fund supports ongoing optimisation efforts that keep Perl competitive in today’s performance-conscious environment.

Platform Diversity: As computing platforms proliferate—from traditional servers to edge devices to cloud containers—Perl must remain compatible and efficient across this expanding landscape.

Community Responsiveness: Bug reports and feature requests from the global Perl community require careful evaluation and implementation. This fund ensures these contributions don’t languish unaddressed.

A Partnership Model for Open Source Sustainability

SUSE’s contribution represents more than financial support—it’s a blueprint for sustainable open-source stewardship. When organisations that build upon open-source foundations reinvest in those foundations, they create a virtuous cycle that benefits everyone. It’s a recognition that the digital commons we all depend upon flourish only through collective stewardship.