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The Linux kernel license requires Nvidia to disclose their Linux kernel sources and Nvidia open sourced their kernel driver.

That said, you can probably boot a Debian or Gentoo system using the Nvidia provided kernel if need be.

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It always has been the userspace of the Jetsons which was closed source and tied to Nvidia's custom kernel. I have not heard from people running Jetpack on a different userland than the one provided by Nvidia. Companies/Labs that update the OS don't care about CUDA, Nvidia contributes to Mesa support of the Jetsons and some only need a bit more GPU power than a RasPi.

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