PET Initiative Supporting Organizations
Charles Schwab
Elastic
enclaive GmbH
GEDEFENSE.COM
Informatica
Provably.ai
PUMCHEALTH.COM
University of Delaware
WeDriveU
LF PET Initiative – Supporting Organization Roles
The LF PET Initiative is an open, community-driven project. Its public documentation does not specify any required membership fees or tiered sponsorship levels. For example, the GitHub wiki simply lists supporting organizations by name (Charles Schwab, CyberArk, Elastic, etc.), with no mention of dues or formal tiers. In practice, companies join by contributing to the project rather than by paying a specified fee.
Expected Participation
Supporting organizations are expected to actively engage in the LF PET community. Key expectations include:
Join the public mailing list. All technical discussions and announcements happen on the PET Initiative’s mailing list (technical-discuss@lists.privacyenhancingtech.org). Representatives from supporting organizations should subscribe and contribute design proposals and feedback there.
Attend bi-weekly technical meetings. The project holds virtual technical meetings every two weeks (Thursdays at 10:00 AM PT). These meetings are open to all (any interested party is welcome), and agendas/minutes are published publicly. Supporting organizations should send engineers or researchers to participate in these forums.
Participate in working groups and subprojects. The initiative encourages formation of special interest groups (e.g. focused on MPC, federated learning, TEEs, etc.). Supporting organizations should contribute technical resources (developers, researchers, test environments) and share real-world PET use cases via these groups and on the mailing list.
Engage with the Technical Steering Committee (TSC). The LF PET TSC, composed of key project contributors, “sets the overall direction of the project” and oversees technical strategy. While TSC seats are held by individuals (not by organization), major contributors from a supporting company can be added as TSC members by majority vote. In practice this means active organizations help form the TSC and shape decisions.
Contribution Requirements
Supporting organizations are expected to contribute to the project under standard Linux Foundation open-source practices:
Code and content contributions. The README invites all kinds of contributions: reporting issues, submitting code (via GitHub pull requests), writing documentation or tutorials, and proposing new features. In particular, organizations are expected to provide development effort (code and tests) and documentation to advance PET tools and frameworks.
Contributor agreement & policies. Any code contribution must be under an Apache‑2.0 license (as used by LF PET) and the contributor must sign the Linux Foundation Contributor License Agreement (CLA). All contributors (including those from supporting companies) must follow the project’s coding/review guidelines and the LF Code of Conduct.
Sharing use cases and expertise. Supporting organizations are encouraged to share real-world PET use cases and domain expertise. The project’s events and discussions often revolve around practical scenarios (e.g. privacy-preserving analytics in finance, healthcare, etc.). By providing use-case examples and best practices, supporting members help steer the project’s priorities.
Benefits and Privileges
Organizations that actively support the LF PET Initiative receive visibility and influence within the community:
Public recognition. Supporting organizations are publicly named on the initiative’s wiki page, increasing their visibility as privacy-technology leaders. They may also be acknowledged in LF PET events and announcements.
Influence on direction. Active contributors from supporting organizations can join the TSC or working groups, thereby influencing technical strategy. As the TSC “sets the overall direction of the project”, being a key contributor effectively gives an organization input into roadmap and priorities.
Early insight. Because the project’s discussions (mailing list, meetings, planning documents) are fully public, supporting organizations gain early awareness of new proposals and designs. They see draft designs and roadmaps before formal releases, thanks to the transparent process (agendas/minutes are published).
Engagement opportunities. The initiative hosts community events (webinars, BoFs) where sponsors and contributors share knowledge. For example, a PET webinar is explicitly described as “bringing together key contributors and sponsors to share knowledge about PETs”. In such events, supporting organizations can present their work, network with peers, and shape the dialogue around PETs. Summary: In sum, there are no explicit dues or sponsorship levels documented for LF PET. Instead, supporting organizations commit to active participation: they join the public mailing list and meetings, contribute code or other resources under the LF CLA, and help govern the project via the TSC. In return, they gain community recognition and a voice in shaping the initiative.