SUSE solidifies position as platform for AI workloads. Nov. 10, 2026, 10:00 AM News summary: * Intelligent operations: SUSE Rancher Prime expands AI-driven management capabilities with Liz, its context-aware AI assistant, and specialized agents for troubleshooting Kubernetes and virtual machines. * Unified open infrastructure: New SUSE Rancher Prime capabilities simplify Kubernetes and VM management, while SLES 16.1 unifies traditional, immutable and real-time workloads within one enterprise operating system. * Secure AI supply chain: Expanded security capabilities and more than 1000 verified Python libraries help enterprises identify vulnerabilities, protect workloads and build AI applications on trusted components. SALT LAKE CITY, Nov. 10, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - SUSE(R), the leading sovereign open infrastructure company, today announced new capabilities across its open infrastructure platform to help enterprises deploy, manage, and secure AI and business-critical workloads across hybrid environments. The platform unites SUSE Rancher Prime for managing Kubernetes applications and virtual machines, SUSE AI Factory for building and running AI workloads, and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 16.1, the enterprise operating system providing the foundation for cloud-native and virtualized workloads. These updates introduce agentic AI capabilities for more intelligent infrastructure management, alongside expanded support for immutable infrastructure, real-time performance, and security. Together, these advancements help organizations simplify operations, accelerate modernization, and maintain greater control over their infrastructure. "As enterprises move from experimenting with AI to deploying it at scale, they need infrastructure that can support new workloads alongside existing applications without compromising security, performance, or control," said Dr. Thomas Di Giacomo, Chief Technology and Product Officer, SUSE. "SUSE is bringing greater intelligence and simplicity to infrastructure operations while giving customers the freedom to innovate across their environments. Our commitment to open infrastructure means organizations can embrace AI on their terms, without being locked into a single technology stack or vendor." Customer Impact As AI deployments become a top enterprise priority, organizational teams are increasingly investing in open infrastructure and Kubernetes management capabilities needed to support workloads across hybrid environments. According to recent research sponsored by SUSE, Kubernetes management is IT leaders' top investment priority, followed by AI, with 24% identifying AI-assisted operational troubleshooting as a solution to simplify Kubernetes management across hybrid environments. SUSE is addressing these priorities through intelligent operations, unified infrastructure management, and stronger software supply chain security, helping enterprises reduce operational overhead while maintaining control of their environments. Intelligent Operations Across Kubernetes and Virtual Machines SUSE Rancher Prime expands AI-assisted infrastructure management with Liz, its context-aware AI orchestrator, and a new AI Crew of specialized sub-agents that help teams diagnose issues, troubleshoot workloads, and manage infrastructure. Integration with SUSE Virtualization extends these capabilities beyond Kubernetes to virtual machines, giving teams a more consistent approach to managing hybrid environments. New OAuth2 support enables Liz to connect with MCP servers, while an AI-first Rancher CLI with server-side dry-run capabilities simplifies infrastructure operations. SUSE Observability StackPacks 2.0 also expands visibility into complex environments to support faster troubleshooting. These advancements help address the pressure to accelerate workloads without compromising security. Research found that 91% of organizations acknowledge employees bypass security controls at least occasionally to work faster. By combining AI-assisted troubleshooting with human approval steps for AI-driven actions, SUSE Rancher Prime helps teams improve efficiency while maintaining enterprise oversight. Unified Open Infrastructure for AI and Virtual Machines SUSE Rancher Prime simplifies management of Kubernetes applications, virtual machines, and AI workloads, powered by SUSE AI Factory (and SUSE AI Factory with NVIDIA), across hybrid environments while allowing organizations to build on existing infrastructure investments. SUSE Rancher Prime Virtual Clusters now supports Hosted Control Plane mode, enabling platform teams to provide Kubernetes as a Service with RKE2. SUSE Storage v2 data engine delivers up to 10 times faster performance for stateful workloads, while SUSE Virtualization advanced networking with Kube-OVN supports overlay networking and tenant isolation. Native Cluster API infrastructure providers for RKE2 further simplify infrastructure management through the broader Cluster API ecosystem. Complementing these advancements, SLES 16.1 consolidates traditional, immutable and real-time workloads under one operating system lifecycle and support relationship, reducing complexity and supporting modernization without disruptive migrations. It also introduces an on-box Model Context Protocol (MCP) framework in Tech Preview for AI-assisted diagnostics and infrastructure management. Building on the recently announced SLES for NVIDIA, designed to support next-generation NVIDIA-accelerated infrastructure, SLES 16.1 also delivers Live Patching, post-quantum cryptography readiness, and software supply chain verification to further strengthen its foundation for enterprise AI and business-critical workloads. Securing the AI Software Supply Chain SUSE is strengthening security from software development through runtime, helping enterprises build AI applications on trusted components while improving visibility into vulnerabilities and threats. SUSE Application Collection now includes more than 1,000+ Python libraries built from verified sources, with software bills of material (SBOMs) and provenance information that help developers assess dependencies and reduce software supply chain risk. Many of these libraries form the foundation of the AI component catalogue in SUSE AI Factory, giving teams a trusted, traceable base for building and deploying AI workloads. The upcoming SUSE Security 6.0 release introduces SUSE Security Vulnerability Scanner to identify and prioritize vulnerabilities in deployed workloads and cluster nodes, and SUSE Security Runtime Enforcer to detect and block anomalous workload behavior. Together, these capabilities help organizations strengthen protection across the AI application lifecycle. About SUSE SUSE is the leading sovereign open infrastructure company where hybrid AI runs. Backed by 30 years of community collaboration, we transform open source innovation into secure, enterprise-grade solutions for mission-critical environments. Built on choice and neutrality, SUSE is the only platform that manages any Linux and Kubernetes distribution. Through our open infrastructure platform and partner ecosystem, IT leaders gain control over their data, budgets, and sovereign AI strategies. Our solutions deploy across hybrid environments, from developer workstations and on-premises data centers to multi-cloud and the farthest edge, and are optimized and validated by SAP. With SUSE, choice happens. Learn more at suse.com. Markets Insider and Business Insider Editorial Teams were not involved in the creation of this post. Sponsored Financial Content

openSUSE Leap 16.1 lets users choose between a conventional Linux installation and an immutable, read-only system from the same installer. The choice is made in the Agama installer, and the separate Leap Micro distribution is discontinued. There will be no Leap Micro 6.3 or 7.0. Leap 16.1 is the first point release after Leap 16.0. It arrives ahead of its paid sibling, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.1, which is expected later this month. The release brings GNOME 48.8, KDE Plasma 6.6.4, and LXQt 2.4. SUSE markets the immutable versions as hosts for containers and for edge devices that update themselves and recover from faults on their own.

SUSE to cut about 10% of jobs as CEO cites AI, The Register reports. Staff affected will hear by 4 November, and SUSE has not said which roles will go. Its owner, EQT, reportedly considered selling the Linux company in March. November 2, 2026 - 7:48 pm SUSE, the German Linux company founded in 1992, is cutting about 10% of its workforce. Chief executive Dirk-Peter van Leeuwen told staff on Monday that AI and automation are changing how software companies work. Liam Proven reported the cuts for The Register, which saw the internal memo. SUSE has more than 1,900 employees, according to its owner, the Swedish private equity firm EQT. That puts the cuts at around 190 people. SUSE has not posted a statement about them in its newsroom. "What is clear is that automation and AI are fundamentally shifting how software companies operate," van Leeuwen wrote. He wrote that the company's current structure and cost base will not carry it forward. Modern tooling already lets teams move faster with less overhead and flatter reporting lines, he said. "The requirement for some existing roles has greatly diminished," van Leeuwen wrote. What happens next. The memo did not say which roles will go. SUSE will tell the staff affected by 4 November, The Register reported. Employee representatives will be nominated the next day, and one-to-one meetings start next week. The rest of the company will see the strategy for fiscal year 2027 on 16 November. Van Leeuwen called the decisions painful for SUSE's people, its culture and its open source community. He told staff the cuts reflect changing needs, not their talent or commitment. In September, The Register reported that SUSE had asked long-serving staff whether they would take voluntary separation. An owner weighing a sale. Van Leeuwen, a former Red Hat executive, joined SUSE in 2023. EQT bought the Nuremberg company from Micro Focus in 2018 for $2.5bn. It listed SUSE in Frankfurt in 2021 and took it private again in 2023. In March, Reuters reported that EQT was considering selling it. On 27 October, SUSE announced new agentic AI capabilities for its Linux management tools. Former SUSE employee Christian Brauner reacted on Mastodon. "It's sad that this pointless churn in the name of profit maximizing keeps happening to a great company," Brauner wrote. Other employers have tied job cuts to AI in recent weeks. The Netherlands plans to cut 25,000 government jobs. Barclays is cutting 5,000 bank jobs, and American Express is cutting 5% of staff. Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.