When was Canonical founded?

Canonical was founded in 2004 and raised its 1st funding round 12 years after it was founded.

Where is Canonical located?

Canonical is headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is registered at Boston, Massachusetts.

Which legal entities is Canonical associated with?

Canonical is associated with Canonical Ltd and 1 other.

How many employees does Canonical have?

As of Mar 31, 2026, the latest employee count at Canonical is 1946.

Is Canonical a funded company?

Canonical is a funded company, having raised a total of $***** in its 1st and only funding round, a Grant (prize money) round on Jan 01, 2016.

When was the latest funding round of Canonical?

Canonical's latest funding was a $***** Grant (prize money) round on Jan 01, 2016, with participation from 0 investor.

Where does Canonical rank among its competitors?

Canonical ranks 1st amongst 32 active competitors, of which 8 are funded. It stands 9th in terms of total funding among its competitors. The most recent competitor to raise funding was ProjectX, which secured $500K in Apr, 2026.

Who are the top competitors of Canonical?

Canonical's top competitors include OpenStack, Neverinstall and IGEL Technology. Among them, ProjectX secured the most recent funding round in April, 2026.

Canonical - 2026 Company Profile, Team, Funding, Competitors & Financials

Company Details

Provider of open-source operating systems, cloud computing, and related services. The company delivers enterprise-grade support and security updates for its operating systems. It offers tools for application development, container orchestration, and infrastructure management. The company also provides certified hardware and professional services to assist with deployment and maintenance.

Website: canonical.com
Social
Registered Address: Boston, Massachusetts

Key Metrics

Founded Year

2004

Location

London, United Kingdom

Stage

Funding Raised

Latest Funding Round

Grant (prize money), Jan 01, 2016, $*****

Ranked

1^st among 32 active competitors

Employee Count

1,946 as on Mar 31, 2026

Investment & Acquisitions

OpenStack

Similar Companies

Suse & 86 more

View Canonical's full profile

Canonical is associated with 2 legal entities given below:

Legal Entity Name	Date of Incorporation	Revenue	Latest Employee Count	Documents
CANONICAL USA CIN: 261194348 , United States, Active	Dec 26, 999	-	219 (As on Dec 31, 2024)	-
Canonical Ltd CIN: 5276648 , Germany, Active	Nov 02, 2004	-	-

Canonical has raised funding over 1 round.

Here is the list of recent funding rounds of Canonical:

Date of Funding	Funding Amount	Round Name	Post-Money Valuation	Revenue Multiple	Lead Investors	Other Investors
Jan 01, 2016	1891215	Grant (prize money)	4381821	3898918	5708761	3508946

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View details of Canonical's funding rounds and investors

The founders of Canonical are Mark Shuttleworth and Karan Ahuja.

Here are the details of Canonical's key team members:

Mark Shuttleworth: Founder of Canonical and founder of 3 other companies, Xubuntu, Ubuntu and HBD. They are also an angel investor in 3 startups.
Contact Info: 1 email address
Karan Ahuja: Founder of Canonical and founder of 1 other company.
Contact Info: 1 phone number
Jane Silber: CEO of Canonical.

View details of Canonical's Founder profiles and Board Members

Canonical's employee count trend

Canonical has 1,946 employees as of Mar 26. Here is Canonical's employee count trend over the years:

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Top competitors of Canonical include OpenStack, Neverinstall and IGEL Technology. Here is the list of Top 10 competitors of Canonical, ranked by Tracxn score:

Rank	Company Details	Short Description	Total Funding	Investors	Tracxn Score
1st	Canonical 2004, London (United Kingdom), Funding Raised	Provider of open-source operating systems, cloud computing, and related services	-	-	57/100
2nd	OpenStack 2010, Austin (United States), Acquired	Open source cloud operating system	$10M	HP, AT&T & 6 others	56/100
3rd	Neverinstall 2019, Bengaluru (India), Seed	Cloud operating system for accessing desktop applications	$1.21M	Dholakia Ventures, Callapina & 21 others	56/100
4th	IGEL Technology 2001, Bremen (Germany), Acquired	Developer of endpoint operating system designed for secure cloud workspaces	-	Melchers	51/100
5th	Unikraft 2024, Heidelberg (Germany), Seed	Developer of a platform for deploying applications and scaling workloads	$6M	Heavybit, Mango Capital & 4 others	49/100
6th	Umbrel 2020, Bangkok (Thailand), Seed	Platform offering an OS for running a personal server	$3M	OSS Capital, Slow Ventures & 10 others	37/100
7th	FydeOS 2015, Beijing (China), Seed	Provider of cloud-driven operating system	$1.45M	Plug and Play Tech Center, Baicells	34/100
8th	GreenShift 2024, Amsterdam (Netherlands), Seed	Provider of cloud optimization software solutions	$2.76M	Rockstart, The Footprint Firm	34/100
9th	Yunhong 2010, Tianhe (China), Series A	Virtualization and cloud computing solution	$1.51M	ZSVC, Lanshan Group	33/100
10th	ProjectX 2022, San Francisco (United States), Seed	Cloud based operating system	$704K	Y Combinator, Google Cloud	32/100