Microsoft Turns to Old Enemy Linux to Solve Vexing Tech Threat - WSJ

See Introducing Microsoft Azure Sphere: Secure and power the intelligent edge (Azure blog) for more details

"The move is designed to bolster Microsoft’s position in the Internet of Things market against cloud-infrastructure leader Amazon.com Inc. and others. The global market for microcontroller chips that can connect to the web—roughly one-eighth of the overall microcontroller-chip business—hit $2.2 billion last year, said Tom Hackenberg, a principal analyst with the research firm, IHS Markit Ltd.

Microsoft used Linux because even the most scaled-down version of Windows won’t fit on thumbnail-size microcontroller chips. Its engineers added security features the company developed to the Linux “kernel,” the core elements of the operating system."

Microsoft Turns to Old Enemy Linux to Solve Vexing Tech Threat - WSJ