Wikipedia has entered into new partnerships with several major technology companies, including Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon, as part of its efforts to generate revenue from its widely used content. The move marks a significant shift for the non-profit platform, which has long provided free access to its knowledge base.
The Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia, has also signed agreements over the past year with AI start-up Perplexity and French company Mistral AI. These deals focus on allowing controlled and paid access to Wikipedia’s content for artificial intelligence training.
Wikipedia hosts around 65 million articles across more than 300 languages. This vast collection has become a key source of training data for generative AI chatbots and digital assistants. Until now, many technology companies have relied on this freely available information to build their AI models.
However, the growing use of Wikipedia’s content for AI training has led to a sharp rise in server usage and operational costs. The organization mainly depends on small donations from the public, making it difficult to manage the increased financial pressure.
To address this, Wikimedia is encouraging wider adoption of its enterprise product. This service allows companies to pay for structured access to Wikipedia’s data, delivered in formats designed for large-scale AI training needs. Lane Becker, president of Wikimedia Enterprise, said these companies need to financially support Wikipedia’s ongoing work.
Becker added that Big Tech partners understand the importance of committing to the long-term sustainability of Wikipedia. He noted that it took time to identify the right features and tools to transition these companies from free access to a paid, commercial model. This shift reflects a broader recognition of the responsibility tech firms have in supporting key knowledge platforms.
Wikipedia’s content is written, edited, and verified by about 250,000 volunteer editors worldwide. These contributors play a central role in maintaining the platform’s accuracy and reliability. A senior executive at Microsoft highlighted that trustworthy and high-quality information is essential for responsible AI development, adding that the partnership aims to build a sustainable content ecosystem where contributors are properly valued.
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