You do not need those companies for the software support. You only need upstreamed drivers for Linux kernel for the hardware. This is what these companies are doing and Android doesn’t.
Similarly, my laptop from 10+ years ago works flawlessly With Debian 10.
Sure, but it's nice to have an active company for repairs, replacement parts, support, etc.
It'll certainly keep running without a company backing it, but there have been so many similar initiative, I'm personally curious how this one will turn out.
Similarly, my laptop from 10+ years ago works flawlessly With Debian 10.