Mozilla builds 'rebel alliance' to take on AI giants
What's the story
Mozilla, the non-profit behind Firefox, is gearing up for a major showdown with leading artificial intelligence (AI) companies. The organization's president, Mark Surman, is building what he calls "a rebel alliance of sorts." This coalition consists of tech start-ups and public interest technologists who want to make AI more open and trustworthy. They also hope to check the power of industry titans like OpenAI and Anthropic.
Strategic funding
Mozilla's mission-driven investments in AI
Surman said, "It's that spirit that a bunch of people are banding together to create something good in the world and take on this thing that threatens us." He added, "It's super corny, but people totally get it." Mozilla is investing its $1.4 billion reserves into "mission driven" tech businesses and nonprofits. The organization is looking for investments that promote AI transparency and could counterbalance companies growing at historic rates with limited guardrails.
Venture capital
Mozilla Ventures: A venture capital fund for tech start-ups
In 2022, Mozilla launched a venture capital fund called Mozilla Ventures and committed to investing an initial $35 million in early-stage companies. Now, the organization is looking to raise more funds. However, financially, Mozilla is at a huge disadvantage compared to its competitors. OpenAI has raised over $60 billion from global investors while Anthropic has secured over $30 billion, according to PitchBook data.
Industry concerns
Mozilla's stance on AI safety and governance
Mozilla is part of a growing faction in the AI industry that is concerned about OpenAI's rapid growth and power. When it was founded as a non-profit AI lab in 2015, OpenAI's goal was to "advance digital intelligence in the way that is most likely to benefit humanity as a whole." However, over the past few years, it has transformed into a commercial entity with astronomical growth rates after launching ChatGPT in late 2022.
Business model
OpenAI's transition to a for-profit business
OpenAI is now valued at $500 billion and has completed a recapitalization in October, confirming its future as a for-profit business under a non-profit umbrella. However, only some of its co-founders remain at the company. Several former employees have criticized what they broadly describe as a focus on growth at the expense of safety. Among them is Elon Musk, who left in 2018 and started competitor xAI in 2023.
Future plans
Mozilla's response to the AI industry's challenges
Despite the challenges, Surman remains undeterred and believes Mozilla can help "do for AI what we did for the web." He said, "There is an alternative that's real and is emerging, and it's a lot of small pieces that add up to that alternative." In 2024, Surman used the term "rebel alliance" to describe the coalition of players that helped disrupt Microsoft's dominance over the web.