Wikipedia today marks 25 years since its launch on January 15, 2001, as the world's largest online encyclopedia celebrates a quarter-century of providing free, human-powered knowledge to billions of users worldwide. The Wikimedia Foundation announced the milestone through a new campaign including a documentary series, time capsule, and expanded technology partnerships designed to sustain the platform's nonprofit mission in an era dominated by artificial intelligence.

The nonprofit organization operates the encyclopedia through contributions from nearly 250,000 volunteer editors who create, update, and fact-check content according to rigorous standards on neutrality and reliability, according to the foundation's announcement. These unpaid contributors maintain 65 million articles across more than 300 languages that receive nearly 15 billion views every month.

"Wikipedia is a digital wonder of the world, unlike anything else," said Maryana Iskander, Chief Executive Officer of the Wikimedia Foundation, in today's announcement. "It has overcome countless challenges and changes in its time, thanks to the people behind it and their unwavering commitment to sharing free, reliable knowledge with the world."

The foundation released an eight-part documentary series today showcasing volunteer editors from around the world, including a Californian who spent two decades documenting hurricanes and storms, an Indian medical doctor who shared critical COVID-19 information during the global pandemic, and an elderly librarian in Tokyo making knowledge available in Japanese. Their stories emphasize that knowledge remains fundamentally human even as artificial intelligence reshapes information access across the internet.

A "25 Years of Wikipedia" time capsule launched today allows users to explore the platform's history through founder Jimmy Wales's recorded memories of installing the site's very first servers. The capsule explores Wikipedia's role during major global events, including when the platform's servers nearly collapsed in 2009 from traffic following Michael Jackson's death. An interactive quiz released today invites people to discover which imagined Wikipedia future best represents them, with visions created by editors, children, futurists, and artists.

Wikipedia has become crucial infrastructure for artificial intelligence systems that increasingly dominate internet search and information retrieval. The platform leads among domains cited in Google's AI Mode with 12.02% of appearances, far ahead of Google.com itself at 7.41%, according to July 2025 research examining 10,000 keywords. Wikipedia serves as one of the highest-quality datasets used in training Large Language Models, providing verified information that powers generative AI chatbots, search engines, and voice assistants.

The platform's relevance to artificial intelligence development attracted attention from competitors including xAI, which launched Grokipedia in October 2025 with 885,279 articles as an AI-powered alternative. Wikipedia traffic patterns have shifted substantially alongside AI adoption, with ChatGPT views dropping from 52.5 million in 2023 to 16.5 million in 2024 while political content surged during the election year.

The foundation announced new partnerships with technology companies that use Wikipedia content for artificial intelligence training and search results. Several firms became Wikimedia Enterprise partners over the past year, including Ecosia, Microsoft, Mistral AI, Perplexity, Pleias, and ProRata, joining existing partners Amazon, Google, and Meta. Wikimedia Enterprise provides commercial access to Wikipedia content at volumes and speeds designed for large-scale reusers and distributors, generating revenue to support the nonprofit's mission.

"Access to high-quality, trustworthy information is at the heart of how we think about the future of AI at Microsoft," said Corporate Vice President Tim Frank at Microsoft in today's announcement. "Our partnership with Wikimedia helps ensure that people, and the agents working on their behalf, can draw on knowledge they understand and trust."

Technology companies increasingly rely on Wikipedia's verified content as training data becomes a contested resource. LinkedIn expanded AI training to include user data starting November 3, 2025, while Meta's AI training processes children's data according to August 2025 court rulings in Germany. Wikipedia's Creative Commons licensing explicitly permits reuse, distinguishing it from platforms that face legal challenges over unauthorized data collection.

The foundation outlined its AI strategy, which directs future investments to support human contributors rather than replace them with automation. "The Foundation's recent AI strategy directs future investments and developments in AI to support the human contributors at the core of Wikipedia, so that they can spend their valuable time on what they want to accomplish and not on how to technically achieve it," according to the announcement.

Wikipedia has systematically strengthened its technical infrastructure since 2001 to become one of the most accessible and multilingual sites globally. Recent updates include improvements to the desktop interface and dark mode for better user accessibility, new data centers to reduce load times, and iOS and Android apps enabling mobile access. The platform operates as the only website in the top-ten most-visited global websites run by a nonprofit organization.

The foundation's efforts to close knowledge gaps have made Wikipedia's content more representative through dedicated language translation initiatives and community-led programs to increase the spectrum of volunteer editors and subjects covered. Abstract Wikipedia aims to make reliable information available in all languages and was selected as one of five finalists for the MacArthur Foundation's 100&Change grant competition in 2024.

"Wikipedia shows that knowledge is human, and knowledge needs humans," said Selena Deckelmann, Chief Product and Technology Officer at the Wikimedia Foundation. "Especially now, in the age of AI, we need the human-powered knowledge of Wikipedia more than ever."

The platform faces regulatory challenges alongside its technological transformation. Wikipedia challenged the UK's Online Safety Act in July 2025, arguing that regulations designed for social media platforms threaten the volunteer contributor model through identity verification requirements that could expose editors to persecution in authoritarian regimes. High Court hearings in London examined whether Wikipedia faces Category 1 classification requiring extensive content moderation obligations.

Bill Gross, Founder and CEO of ProRata AI, said in today's announcement: "In building a company focused on AI solutions grounded in respect for content creators it means so much that Wikipedia's leadership and values have championed content quality, validity and transparency during a time of great technological change."

Wikipedia attracts more than 1.5 billion unique devices every month and receives edits 324 times per minute from its global volunteer community. The platform accumulated 2.4 billion hours of reading time in 2025 according to data released by the foundation in December, with top articles focusing on politics, popular culture, and major news events.

The yearlong Wikipedia 25 celebrations include multiple initiatives launching throughout 2026. People worldwide can "sign" a digital birthday card through social media features designed to make it the longest birthday card ever created. A global virtual birthday event occurred today at 4:00 PM UTC featuring surprise guests, games, and entertainment livestreamed on Wikipedia's YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram channels, with additional in-person events planned worldwide.

Baby Globe, a new birthday mascot inspired by volunteer sketches, appears in visual surprises on several language versions of Wikipedia when readers activate "Birthday mode" next month. The foundation released a limited-edition merchandise collection starting with a Baby Globe plushie developed in collaboration with Makeship.

"In 2001, Wikipedia started as a dream to share knowledge with everyone, everywhere," said Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia Founder and Wikimedia Foundation Trustee. "No one, including me, knew if it would succeed. 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."

Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist and Wikimedia Foundation donor, stated in the announcement: "Every day, Wikipedians write history together—debating, discussing, and refining information based on trustworthy sources. In an increasingly fragmented media landscape, Wikipedia is where facts go to live."

Robert Sim, volunteer Wikipedia editor and the 2025 Wikimedian of the Year from Singapore, said: "Knowledge should belong to everyone. This is why I started editing Wikipedia over 20 years ago and why I continue today. My hope for Wikipedia is simple: that it continues to exist. For that to be possible, Wikipedia needs people."

The foundation emphasized Wikipedia's growing relevance to marketing professionals and businesses that depend on accurate information for brand reputation and search visibility. SEO experts recommend Wikipedia citations as essential components of entity recognition and authority building, particularly as AI systems use reference sources to determine trustworthiness for content selection and synthesis.

Bobby Shabangu, Wikimedia Foundation Board Trustee based in Johannesburg, South Africa, said: "Wikipedia's unique value is in its ability to provide free, relevant knowledge to people around the world. As we look to the next billion people who will come online, Africa will have a critical role to play in ensuring that Wikipedia's knowledge, and by extension the wider internet, reflects the richness of the continent and its people."

The Wikimedia Foundation operates as a United States 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization with offices in San Francisco, California. The nonprofit supports the people, technology, and policies that enable reliable information to be shared globally through Wikipedia and related Wikimedia projects.

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Summary

Who: The Wikimedia Foundation, a nonprofit organization operating Wikipedia, announced the 25th anniversary campaign along with technology partners including Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Meta, Ecosia, Mistral AI, Perplexity, Pleias, and ProRata. Nearly 250,000 volunteer editors maintain the encyclopedia's content across more than 300 languages.

What: Wikipedia marked its 25th anniversary with an eight-part documentary series featuring volunteer editors, a digital time capsule with founder Jimmy Wales's memories, expanded Wikimedia Enterprise partnerships with technology companies, and a yearlong celebration including virtual events, merchandise, and interactive features like Baby Globe mascot appearances.

When: Wikipedia launched on January 15, 2001, and celebrated its 25th anniversary today with announcements of new technology partnerships established over the past year and initiatives continuing throughout 2026.

Where: Wikipedia operates globally as the world's largest online encyclopedia with 65 million articles in over 300 languages, receiving nearly 15 billion views monthly from more than 1.5 billion unique devices. The Wikimedia Foundation maintains offices in San Francisco, California.

Why: The anniversary celebration emphasizes Wikipedia's transformation into critical infrastructure for artificial intelligence systems while highlighting the continued importance of human-powered knowledge curation. New technology partnerships through Wikimedia Enterprise provide sustainable revenue to support the nonprofit's mission as companies increasingly rely on Wikipedia's verified content for AI training and search results.

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