The Krita Foundation announced that Intel has become the Krita Foundation’s first corporate “Gold” sponsor, contributing at least €30,000 annually to the open-source painting software.

Krita is a free and open source free painting software released under the GPL license. It is full-featured, capable of all drawing processes from drafting, line drawing, coloring to final adjustment. It can draw concept sketches, illustrations, comics, animations, scenes and 3D textures. It supports digital tablets, pressure sensitivity, anti-shake, Layers, filters, color management, and more.

Intel and the Krita Foundation have a long history of collaborating on projects such as Krita Sketch, improved multithreading, and HDR painting. A recent collaboration resulted in full support for the new JPEG-XL file format in Krita 5.1 release. JPEG-XL is a new image format that provides better compression and image quality than regular JPG images.

This file format is currently an experimental feature in most web browsers. The Krita Foundation continues to work with Intel, JPEG-XL developers, and Chrome developers to ensure interoperability of the image format.

Jerry Tsao, vice president/general manager of Intel CCG Mobile Enthusiasts and Creators Group, commented on the partnership:

This strategic partnership will provide a range of new painting capabilities, leveraging 12th and future generations of Intel Core Hybrid technology, using powerful P and E cores, and Intel Arc GPUs for more powerful painting with less latency experience.

We’re also excited about JPEG XL support, which provides a significantly better HDR experience and higher compression ratios for network image transfer and professional photography.

With the financial support of Intel, Krita avoids the embarrassment of generating electricity for love, can hire and retain the best developers in the industry, and build a more stable developer base.

According to the official website of the Krita Foundation, its “gold medal” corporate sponsor is currently only Intel, and other donations are basically in the name of individuals.