The Mozilla Foundation intends to invest $30 million (and possibly more) in the creation of Mozilla.ai, to redefine the artificial intelligence market.

Led by Moez Draief, an AI expert who has worked in research units at Huawei and Capgemini, the Mozilla.ai team aims to facilitate the development of reliable open-source AI applications. The new start-up team, distinct from the Mozilla Foundation and Mozilla Corporation, consists of entrepreneurs, developers, scientists, product managers, and other builders. It has the goal of building a decentralized and independent system offering reliable open-source artificial intelligence.

Mark Surman, executive director of the Mozilla Foundation, said:

"Artificial intelligence is, of course, one of the defining topics of 2023.

This technology forces us to reconsider not only our thinking about the internet but also communication, creativity, and society as a whole. While it has generated excitement, there is also apprehension about it. If the next wave of AI has considerable potential, particularly to improve society, this will only be possible by putting human action and user interests at the heart of concerns, and by prioritizing transparency and accountability. We are currently at a turning point in artificial intelligence, which represents a real opportunity to build technology with different values, new outcomes, and a better model. And that’s what Mozilla.ai aims to do."

Mozilla Ventures: Another subsidiary investing in responsible tech

The Mozilla Foundation plans to invest $35 million with Mozilla Ventures, in companies specializing in privacy protection, digital decentralisation of power, and building more reliable AI – all of which also have strong commercial success potential.

Mozilla has already made three investments:

• -Secure AI Labs (SAIL), a company that uses advanced security and AI technologies to secure patient data and advance medical collaboration. The aim is to advance research and innovation in bioinformatics through a platform that enables faster and more secure data access, ultimately improving healthcare for all.
• Block Party, a social media security application designed to address the realities of online harassment. It allows people who are regularly harassed to safely participate in public conversations on social media by setting their content boundaries.
• Heylogin, a "swipe-to-login" password manager aimed at businesses. Mainly aimed at SMEs, Heylogin utilises per-user billing and allows companies to manage shared passwords and individual accounts.

Knowing that a company in which I trust is looking to wield its influence (and capital) in developing AI responsibly makes me feel somewhat better about it. I really, sincerely hope they don't foul up on this, as with what happened with Brave.

Thumbnail image copyright Mozilla

This post is now available on Mirror