As part of the Wikimedia Foundation’s 25th anniversary celebration declare a series of new partnerships with AI technology companies that are now commercial product customers, Wikimedia Enterprise. Developed by the foundation, Wikimedia Enterprise allows the large-scale reuse and distribution of Wikipedia content, as well as content from other Wikimedia projects.
In addition to the previously announced partnership with Google in 2022the organization shared publicly for the first time that it has established other partnerships with Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Mistral AI, and Perplexity over the past year. Other partnerships, such as Ecosia, Pleias, and ProRata, have been mentioned before, but are also included in this announcement, along with Nomic and Reef Media.
The deal gives Wikipedia another way to keep itself afloat in an era when much of its content is captured and reused by AI models and other technology products and services to provide fast, factual answers to consumer questions. As an enterprise product, Wikimedia Enterprise isn’t just about getting tech companies to pay to use it; it also provides access to Wikimedia projects at a volume and speed designed to meet your data needs.
Foundation too noted in a blog post that Wikipedia is now among the ten most visited websites in the world, where viewers view more than 65 million articles in more than 300 languages, nearly 15 billion times per month.
“Wikipedia shows that knowledge is human, and knowledge needs humans. Especially now, in the age of AI, we need human-powered Wikipedia knowledge more than ever,” Wikimedia Foundation CPO/CTO Selena Deckelmann said in a statement. “With the continued help of our readers, volunteer editors, donors, partners, and fans around the world, Wikipedia will remain a vital center for human-powered online knowledge and collaboration for the next 25 years and beyond.”
In addition to the announcement of the technology offer, the foundation launched a birthday campaign, which includes a new video documentary that offers a behind-the-scenes look at Wikipedia volunteers around the world. It also launched a “25 Years of Wikipedia” time capsule to explore the site’s past, present, and future, with some narration provided by founder Jimmy Wales. The organization will also be celebrating its birthday with a live broadcast, on January 15, at 16:00 UTC, with guests, games, and entertainment. The show can be found on Wikipedia’s YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram channels.
The organization’s anniversary announcement also highlighted other recent advances, such as upgrades to its own technology infrastructure. AI approach, try something new like games and short-form videos, and more.