Red Hat

Red Hat develops enterprise open-source software for running applications and managing IT infrastructure. Its portfolio spans Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the OpenShift Kubernetes platform, Ansible Automation Platform, and Red Hat AI. These technologies help organizations develop cloud-native applications, automate operations, and manage hybrid cloud environments. OpenShift AI and Red Hat Inference Server extend that infrastructure into AI model development and deployment, while Red Hat AI lets customers retain control over their data, models, and deployment decisions.

Founded in 1993 by Bob Young and Marc Ewing, Red Hat is led by president and CEO Matt Hicks, who took the role in 2022. Its engineering approach connects upstream open-source communities with commercially supported products. One concrete contribution is Podman, a daemonless tool for managing and running Linux containers. Red Hat Developer Hub builds on Backstage to bring developer tools, repositories, documentation, and reusable software templates into an internal portal.

Red Hat is an IBM subsidiary following IBM’s completed 2019 acquisition, valued at approximately $34 billion in equity. Its subscription offering includes technical support, lifecycle guidance, and access to multiple supported versions, allowing customers to choose when to upgrade. The company reported that more than 90% of Fortune 500 companies were customers, based on client data and the September 2025 Fortune 500 list.