Wikipedia Partners With Big Tech Companies To Allow Access To Its Data For Developing And Training AI Models – AfroTech
The Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit organization that operates Wikipedia, celebrated the platform’s 25th anniversary by announcing new partnerships with several leading technology and AI companies.
In a news release issued Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, the foundation shared that Ecosia, Microsoft, Mistral AI, Perplexity, Pleias, and ProRata have joined existing tech partners — including Amazon, Google, and Meta — to support Wikipedia’s sustainability.
Wikipedia And The AI Age
Under the agreements, partner companies will be able to access content from Wikimedia projects at customized volumes and speeds, notes the release.
The partnerships are part of Wikimedia Enterprise, a program that allows companies to pay for structured access to Wikipedia’s data to develop and train AI models.
“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,” Selena Deckelmann, Wikimedia Foundation’s chief product and technology officer, said in the release.
Wikimedia’s partnerships with Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Mistral AI, and Perplexity were finalized over the past year but had not previously been publicly disclosed, CNBC reports.
“With continued help from readers, volunteer editors, donors, partners, and fans across the globe, Wikipedia will remain the crucial hub for human-powered knowledge and collaboration online for the next 25 years and beyond,” Deckelmann added.
The Growth Of Wikipedia
Since 2001, Wikipedia has continuously upgraded its technology infrastructure to become one of the world’s most accessible and multilingual websites, the news release states. Improvements include updating the desktop interface, introducing dark mode to enhance accessibility, and opening new data centers to speed up load times.
“In 2001, Wikipedia started as a dream to share knowledge with everyone, everywhere. No one, including me, knew if it would succeed,” said Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales in the release. “Against all odds, Wikipedia has grown to become the backbone of knowledge on the internet today. Wikipedia demonstrates 25 years of humanity at its best, proving that when people come together in the spirit of building trust and collaboration, they can make the impossible possible.”
Per the news release, Wikipedia is among the top 10 most-visited websites in the world. The website hosts more than 65 million articles in over 300 languages and garners nearly 15 billion monthly views.
