No More Free Lunch: Wikimedia Enterprise AI Data Licensing Deals Set New Standard
The Wikimedia Foundation has secured landmark Wikimedia Enterprise AI data licensing deals with Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon, moving away from free web scraping to a paid commercial model.
The era of "free-for-all" AI training is coming to a definitive end. The Wikimedia Foundation announced on Thursday that it's inked major licensing deals with Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Perplexity, and Mistral AI. These tech giants will now pay to access the vast knowledge base used to power AI assistants like ChatGPT and Copilot.
Wikimedia Enterprise AI Data Licensing Deals: From Scraping to Sustainability
For years, these companies scraped Wikipedia's 65 million articles without a formal agreement. Now, they've officially signed onto the Wikimedia Enterprise program. This commercial subsidiary offers high-speed, high-volume API access that goes far beyond what's available through free public channels.
While the financial details remain undisclosed, the move is a massive win for the nonprofit. It helps offset the soaring infrastructure costs required to host global knowledge. These new partners join Google, which has been a paying customer since 2022, alongside smaller innovative firms like Ecosia and Nomic.
Securing the Future of Open Knowledge
By charging for enterprise-grade access, Wikimedia isn't closing its doors—it's ensuring they stay open. As AI models become the primary way people consume information, the foundation is making sure that the source of that information is properly funded and respected by the billion-dollar corporations that rely on it.
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