I think people drastically overestimate the level of strategy employed by large companies like Microsoft and Google. There are so many divisions and projects wi

I think people drastically overestimate the level of strategy employed by large companies like Microsoft and Google. There are so many divisions and projects within these companies, all with their own goals and personalities. Of course Microsoft does have some large strategic goals for its public conduct, but is it really such a stretch to allow that the Azure team wants to embrace developers outside of their traditional base? So long as it doesn't conflict severely with some other goal of the company, I don't find it difficult to believe that an enterprising manager on a mission could push through a project like this. Interoperating with a fledgling open source project for mutual benefit, even though it might not be a traditional tactic employed by Microsoft, is certainly not a particularly hard pitch to sell. Particularly if it's not a heavily politicized open source project. For example, let's not forget that both Microsoft and Google donate millions each year for academic research into computing -- stuff that is way far out, such as trying to find viable quantum computers. These companies have giant market caps, and even though Microsoft may have a corporate edict to stamp out Linux wherever possible, and Google's profits are directly affected by how much creepy info they can gather on you, these companies are made up of a bunch of humans, and you have to expect that at least a few of them can scrape together altruistic and benevolent projects.