The Wikimedia Foundation has announced a major expansion of its artificial intelligence partnerships as part of its 25th anniversary celebrations, revealing new collaborations with some of the world’s leading tech companies. The announcement highlights Wikipedia’s evolving role in the AI era, where its vast, human-curated knowledge base is increasingly used to power modern technology platforms.
As part of the announcement, the foundation confirmed that Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Mistral AI, and Perplexity have become customers of Wikimedia Enterprise, the organization’s commercial product designed for large-scale reuse and distribution of Wikipedia and other Wikimedia project content. While Wikimedia previously disclosed a partnership with Google in 2022, these additional deals were shared publicly for the first time.
Wikimedia Enterprise provides structured, reliable access to Wikimedia content at a volume and speed tailored for enterprise-scale data needs, particularly for AI training and information retrieval systems. Beyond monetization, the service ensures that companies using Wikipedia data do so responsibly, accurately, and with proper attribution.
Other partners named in the announcement include Ecosia, Pleias, ProRata, Nomic, and Reef Media, some of which had been mentioned in earlier disclosures but are now formally included as part of the broader initiative. These agreements offer Wikipedia a sustainable revenue stream at a time when AI models increasingly rely on freely available online knowledge.
According to the foundation, Wikipedia remains one of the top ten most-visited websites globally, with readers accessing more than 65 million articles across 300+ languages, generating nearly 15 billion views per month. This scale makes Wikipedia a foundational resource for both human readers and AI-powered applications.
“Wikipedia shows that knowledge is human, and knowledge needs humans,” said Selena Deckelmann, Wikimedia Foundation’s Chief Product and Technology Officer. “Especially now, in the age of AI, we need the human-powered knowledge of Wikipedia more than ever.”
Alongside the AI partnership news, the Wikimedia Foundation launched a global 25th birthday campaign, featuring a new video docuseries spotlighting Wikipedia volunteers worldwide. The organization also unveiled a “25 Years of Wikipedia” digital time capsule, narrated in part by founder Jimmy Wales, offering insights into the platform’s past, present, and future.
The celebrations will culminate in a livestreamed anniversary event on January 15 at 4:00 PM UTC, hosted across Wikipedia’s YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram channels. Additional announcements highlighted recent infrastructure upgrades, Wikimedia’s responsible approach to AI, and experimental initiatives such as games and short-form video.
As Wikipedia enters its next chapter, these partnerships underscore its commitment to keeping human-powered knowledge at the center of the internet now and in the age of AI.
