Facebook has been building tools that help artists turn their Blender creations into engaging AR experiences in Spark AR.
To support these artists and the countless other animators, researchers, engineers, designers and content creators who depend on open source tools, Facebook wishes to contribute to the development of Blender. Which is why we’re proud to announce that Facebook will join the Blender Foundation’s Development Fund as a Corporate Patron as of Q4, 2020.
We at Blender see this as another important signal of the industry’s willingness to migrate to open source, and contribute to open source’s continual improvement.
Ton Roosendaal,
Chairman Blender Foundation
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As much as I hate Mork Zucchiniborg, this does make me happy to hear.
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The more the merrier! 
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Holy crap. I must admit I am a little confused in how this would benefit Facebook except as some lame PR attempt at creating some good will but for the BF and us, the users, this is nothing but fantastic news! Woohoo!
Great! 116k euros monthly
But now please, hire a Pablo Dobarro for Cycles 
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Everytime I hear about a big company joining the BDF I am exited, then I start worrying about the possibility of them getting involved into the developpement for their own goals. Especially when it’s facebook.
Anyone can tell me if it shouldn’t worry me?
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It shouldn’t worry you. This has been covered / explained / done to death over so many times. Blender is “safe” and it cannot be sold / usurped or otherwise messed about with.
For myself, just outstanding that the BF is getting so much attention from heavy hitters from all aspects of the computer world.
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Brace yourselves, here comes the tinfoil.
Just a friendly reminder to anyone triggered because Facebook - they’re just giving Blender money - which is fantastic!
Great job BF!!
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Facebook doesn’t have any more leverage over Blender than Epic has, except taking their pocketbook and going home, which is fine since it is their money. We’ve been through this before. It’s gonna be fine.
I know it’s going to be fine, and I know the foundation and software are both extremely well protected by law, etc. BUT STILL these people are so vicious I can’t help but keep an eye open.
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Let’s assume for a moment that they really do have some unknown ulterior motive. What would you have Ton do? Would you turn them away at the door? What about other, lesser known companies? They may well have ulterior motives too after all. How would you screen them?
No. The best Ton can do is organize it in a way where Blender is well funded, but protected. And he’s never failed us before.
And really, Facebook has nothing to lose by supporting Blender, and their AR/VR efforts gain a more powerful DCC app. Win-win.
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I can’t help but feeling slightly more positive about Zuckerberg now. Even though the move is of course a business strategy to push the Oculus brand, it’s still great for the future of Blender.
In short:
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that is very funny I love it, now I share everywhere 
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Nice money but screw that pos company anyway.
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I really hope Apple joins the bandwagon too.
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It’s like having developers work for you - on Blender!
This membership level is for organisations who want the option to monitor in more detail what will get funded with their contributions. They will get direct access to the Blender team for strategical discussions. Roadmaps and priorities will be aligned with your requirements as good as possible.
In other words, get ready for Facebook integration.
There are a few people on Youtube who already announced they are leaving Blender for another program (even though the only FOSS alternatives are just toys in comparison). The hate for Facebook is that strong.
Besides, we have not seen any major change in Blender’s roadmap as a result of these sponsors. The only time we’ve seen integration with a specific company’s technology (Optix for instance) is when the company itself submitted a patch.
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More than likely has nothing to do with Facebook being nice or anything. They probably just need another tax dodge. Or more precisely a tax write off.
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