Canonical

The London-headquartered company behind Ubuntu, one of the world's most-used Linux operating systems. Its team is spread across more than 70 countries and it advertises UK graduate roles.

About Canonical

Canonical is the company behind Ubuntu, one of the most widely used versions of the Linux operating system. Linux runs much of the internet, including cloud servers, smart devices and supercomputers, and Ubuntu is a popular, free way to use it. Canonical makes money by selling support and services to organisations that rely on Ubuntu, and it backs a wide range of free, open-source software.

Canonical was founded on 5 March 2004 by the South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth. Its headquarters is in London, on the fifth floor of 3 More London Riverside, and it has offices in cities such as Austin, Boston, Shanghai, Taipei and Tokyo, as well as the Isle of Man. Wikipedia says more than 1,000 people work for it, spread over more than 70 countries.

Besides Ubuntu, its projects include Ubuntu Core for devices, Launchpad, Juju, MAAS, MicroK8s, Snap and Multipass. In October 2025 it launched Canonical Academy, a training and certification platform.

We did not find a formal mission statement in the sources we read.

For young people, Canonical's careers site has listed graduate roles including a Graduate Sales Development Representative (UK), a Graduate Software Engineer in open source and Linux, a Graduate Customer Success Manager and a Linux Desktop Support Associate based in its London office. Canonical hires remotely from many countries, so check each listing for where you can work.

What they do

• {'desc': 'A widely used Linux operating system.', 'title': 'Ubuntu'}
• {'desc': 'Paid support and security for organisations.', 'title': 'Ubuntu Pro and support'}
• {'desc': 'Juju, MAAS and MicroK8s.', 'title': 'Cloud and container tools'}
• {'desc': 'Ubuntu Core and Canonical Academy.', 'title': 'Devices and training'}

Key facts

• Founded: 5 March 2004 by Mark Shuttleworth
• Headquarters: 3 More London Riverside, London, UK
• Staff across more than 70 countries
• UK graduate roles advertised (canonical.com/careers)

Website: canonical.com