Metas PyTorch is one of the most widely used open-source AI frameworks. The project will be transitioned to a new, independent PyTorch Foundation.
PyTorch, one of the most widely used deep learning frameworks, was released as open-source by Meta, then Facebook, in 2016. The project has since been managed and further developed by Meta AI. The framework is used by many other companies besides Meta, including Tesla, Uber, Twitter, and Snap. PyTorch is also widely used in AI research, where it regularly outperforms alternatives such as Google's TensorFlow.
New PyTorch Foundation is part of the Linux Foundation
Because PyTorch is open-source and widely used, other companies also promote the further development of the framework, including Microsoft or Google Cloud. Meta sees this open collaboration, with more than 150.000 projects and thousands of contributors, as the foundation for PyTorch's success.
Today, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg announced that the PyTorch project will transition to a newly formed PyTorch Foundation. It will be part of the nonprofit Linux Foundation, a technology consortium that promotes the collaborative development of open-source software.
The creation of the PyTorch Foundation ensures that decisions will be made in a transparent and open manner over many years, Meta said. The governing body will include representatives from AMD, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Meta, Microsoft Azure, and Nvidia. Other companies are expected to join in the future.
Meta wants to continue to support and use PyTorch
PyTorch was developed with an open-source philosophy that puts community first, Meta said. That should not change with the transition to the Foundation. Contributors to the framework are expected to benefit from Foundation leadership and additional investment in the framework in the future. The main priority, according to Meta, is to maintain a clear separation between the business and technical governance of PyTorch.
The transition to the Foundation will not involve any changes to PyTorch's code, core project, or developer operating models, the company said. Meta plans to continue to invest in PyTorch despite the transfer to the Foundation, and use it as the primary framework for its own AI research and production.
For the company, open science is at the heart of its own AI work, Meta said. According to the company, this approach enables rapid progress in the development and deployment of new AI systems, and the creation of the PyTorch Foundation should empower the entire AI community to advance the field in new ways.
