Wikimedia Foundation announces new AI partnerships with Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Perplexity, and others

As part of its 25th anniversary celebrations, the Wikimedia Foundation has announced a new set of partnerships with AI technology companies that are now customers of its commercial product, Wikimedia Enterprise. Developed by the foundation, Wikimedia Enterprise enables large-scale reuse and distribution of Wikipedia content and material from other Wikimedia projects.

In addition to its previously announced 2022 partnership with Google, the foundation revealed for the first time that it has entered into partnerships with Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Mistral AI, and Perplexity over the past year. Other alliances, including Ecosia, Pleias, and ProRata, previously mentioned, were confirmed again, along with newer names such as Nomic and Reef Media.

The agreements provide Wikipedia with an additional way to support its operations, as AI models and technology platforms increasingly reuse its content to deliver quick, factual answers to users. Beyond licensing, Wikimedia Enterprise offers structured access to Wikimedia projects at the scale and speed required by large technology companies.

In a related blog post, the foundation noted that Wikipedia remains one of the world’s top 10 most-visited websites, with readers accessing more than 65 million articles across over 300 languages nearly 15 billion times each month.

“Wikipedia shows that knowledge is human, and knowledge needs humans. Especially now, in the age of AI, we need the human-powered knowledge of Wikipedia more than ever,” said Selena Deckelmann, the Wikimedia Foundation’s chief product and technology officer. She added that with continued support from readers, volunteers, donors, partners, and supporters worldwide, Wikipedia will remain a central hub for human-driven knowledge and collaboration in the decades ahead.

Alongside the partnership announcements, the foundation launched a birthday campaign featuring a new video docuseries offering a behind-the-scenes look at Wikipedia volunteers worldwide. It also introduced a “25 Years of Wikipedia” time capsule that explores the platform’s past, present, and future, narrated by Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales.

The Wikimedia Foundation is also hosting a livestreamed anniversary event on January 15 at 4:00 p.m. UTC, featuring guests, games, and entertainment. The event will be streamed on Wikipedia’s YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram channels.

The anniversary announcements also highlighted other recent developments, including upgrades to the foundation’s technical infrastructure, its own approach to artificial intelligence, and new experiments such as games and short-form video content.