Canonical, founded in 2004, is the company behind Ubuntu - a Linux distribution it describes as the world's most popular enterprise Linux. Its portfolio spans the full technology stack, from operating systems to applications, with a focus on cloud infrastructure, edge computing, IoT, and AI. Products include Ubuntu Pro, an enterprise-grade variant of Ubuntu, and Landscape, a systems management tool for overseeing Ubuntu deployments at scale.
The company works with over 1,200 colleagues across more than 80 countries and has operated as a remote-first organisation since its founding. It counts AWS, Google Cloud, and major silicon providers among its partners and customers, and maintains a broad open-source community of developers and system administrators worldwide.
Canonical's technical scope covers:
- Linux operating systems and enterprise distributions
- Cloud infrastructure and systems management
- Edge computing and IoT platforms
- AI and security tooling
- Compliance and enterprise support services
The company positions itself as a publisher and long-term steward of open-source software, aiming to give organisations access to a broad, supported collection of open-source tools while retaining the flexibility that open-source licensing affords.