The Wikimedia Foundation, which operates the online encyclopedia, also revealed collaborations with AI startup Perplexity and France’s Mistral AI over the past year, having previously partnered with Meta and Amazon.
Additionally, it has an existing arrangement with Alphabet’s Google, opens new tab, established in 2022.
Wikipedia’s content plays a vital role in training AI models, with its 65 million articles in over 300 languages serving as essential data for generative AI chatbots and assistants created by leading tech firms.
However, the practice of companies using large amounts of freely accessible Wikipedia information for AI training has increased server demands and costs for the non-profit, which primarily relies on small public donations for funding.
Wikimedia is advocating for greater adoption of its enterprise offering, which enables tech companies to pay for access to its content in ways tailored to their extensive training requirements.
“Wikipedia is an essential element of these tech firms’ operations that they must learn to support financially,” Lane Becker, president of Wikimedia Enterprise, shared in an interview with Reuters.
“It took some time for us to identify the appropriate features and functionalities to transition these companies from our free platform to a commercial one… but all our Big Tech partners recognize the necessity of committing to support Wikipedia’s mission.”
About 250,000 volunteer editors worldwide create and maintain Wikipedia’s content, ensuring the accuracy and reliability of information.
“Access to reliable, high-quality information is fundamental to our vision for the future of AI at Microsoft… (Through Wikimedia), we aim to foster a sustainable content ecosystem for the AI internet, where contributors are appreciated,” stated Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President Tim Frank.
Wikimedia appointed Bernadette Meehan, the former U.S. Ambassador to Chile, as its new chief executive, effective January 20, as first reported by Reuters last month.
