Wikipedia launched AI licensing deals with major tech firms to fund operations amid rising costs and declining traffic.

In celebration of its 25th anniversary, Wikipedia signed new licensing agreements with significant AI firms, such as Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Perplexity, and Mistral AI, granting them fast, legal access to its content for model training. In light of growing server costs from AI-driven scraping, which have led to a drop in human traffic, the action attempts to make money. Wikipedia is run by the Wikimedia Foundation, which aims to uphold its mission of free knowledge while making sure AI companies are fairly compensated for utilizing its extensive, volunteer-edited content. Jimmy Wales, the site's founder, supported the change, emphasizing the importance of Wikipedia's trustworthy content. Bernadette Meehan will take over as CEO after Maryana Iskander steps down. AI will be used by the foundation to help editors and enhance user experience.