React and React Native Transition to Independent Foundation, Stable Compiler Released

React and React Native are transitioning from Meta’s direct ownership to the newly formed React Foundation, operating under the Linux Foundation. This strategic move, announced by Meta’s engineering account, comes over a decade after React’s open-sourcing. Meta is backing the initiative with a commitment of over $3 million and a five-year partnership. The new foundation will be governed by a diverse steering committee including Amazon, Colstack, Expo, Meta, Microsoft, Software Mansion, and Vercel. Industry observers view this as a significant positive development, expecting it to foster a clearer separation between business interests and technical governance, ensuring React’s evolution prioritizes broader community needs, enhance collaboration, and focus on performance and stability. The React Foundation’s mandate extends beyond core maintenance to include organizing conferences, managing infrastructure, and supporting the wider React ecosystem.

Coinciding with this foundational shift, React has also officially released its stable React Compiler 1.0. This compiler automatically optimizes components, eliminating the need for manual memoization utilities like useMemo and useCallback, having been extensively tested in Meta’s production environments. While initially requiring a Babel plugin, support for SWC (Rust-based) is soon to follow, currently in experimental stages. Adoption is being streamlined, with easier activation paths planned for Expo, Vite, and Next.js. The beta release of Next.js 16 further complements these advancements, featuring stable TurboPack for improved compilation performance, a new file system caching mechanism, and integrated stable support for the React Compiler. These updates underscore a renewed focus on performance and sustainability across the React ecosystem, a strategic direction expected to be amplified by the new React Foundation.