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Wikimedia Foundation announces new AI partnerships with Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Perplexity and others

Plus: After Italy, WhatsApp excludes Brazil from rival chatbot ban

Author

Hafizur Rahman
January 15, 2026

In partnership with

Today's Newsletter Highlights:

  • Wikimedia Foundation announces new AI partnerships with Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Perplexity and others

  • After Italy, WhatsApp excludes Brazil from rival chatbot ban

  • AI video startup Higgsfield hits $1.3 billion valuation with latest funding

  • Best AI Tools

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Wikimedia Foundation announces new AI partnerships with Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Perplexity and others

The Wikimedia Foundation announced new AI partnerships for its 25th anniversary celebrations.

These deals are part of the Wikimedia Enterprise program. This product allows companies to use Wikipedia and other Wikimedia content in their AI systems.

🤝 Who the New Partners Are

The new partners include: Amazon, Meta (parent of Facebook/Instagram), Microsoft, Perplexity, and Mistral AI. They join Google and other earlier partners like Ecosia, Pleias, ProRata, Nomic, and Reef Media.

Key Points :

  • Tech companies are using Wikipedia's valuable, human-curated content to train their AI tools. Paid partnerships help Wikimedia earn money and lower costs. They also ease the strain from heavy automated usage on its servers.

  • Sustainable funding: Wikimedia has relied on small donations. As AI use grows, these enterprise deals offer a new funding source. This helps keep projects free and accessible.

  • Wikipedia's data is vital. It has about 65 million articles in over 300 languages and gets billions of views each month. This makes it a trusted source for AI models.

  • Additional Highlights from the Announcement

  • The Foundation kicked off a 25th birthday campaign. It features behind-the-scenes videos of volunteer editors and a time capsule about Wikipedia’s past and future.

  • Wikimedia confirmed its mission to showcase human knowledge and collaborate with AI developers.

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After Italy, WhatsApp excludes Brazil from rival chatbot ban

WhatsApp has updated its policy. Now, third-party AI chatbots, like ChatGPT and Grok, can’t use its Business API. The ban was set to start on January 15, 2026.

Meta has told developers that this ban won't impact users with Brazilian phone numbers (+55). So, AI chatbots can still communicate with these users on WhatsApp.

Key Points:

  • Developers don’t have to tell Brazilian users about the ban. They can also continue using the Business API for chatbots in Brazil.

  • Background: What the Original Policy Was

  • In late 2025, WhatsApp changed its Business API terms. Now, “general-purpose AI” chatbots are blocked from the platform. This would prevent AI assistants from responding to user messages for many third-party services.

  • The ban only affects bots that serve as general chat agents. It does not apply to bots used for business customer service.

  • Why Brazil (and Earlier Italy) Have Special Treatment

  • Brazil’s competition authority directed WhatsApp to pause the policy. They are investigating whether the ban gives an unfair advantage to Meta’s own AI chatbot.

  • This follows a similar case in Italy, where regulators challenged the ban. Meta also exempted Italian users from it amid a broader EU antitrust probe.

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AI video startup Higgsfield hits $1.3 billion valuation with latest funding

Higgsfield, an AI video generation startup from San Francisco, has raised $80 million in a Series A extension. This brings its valuation to over $1.3 billion.

The funding round was led by Accel, GFT Ventures, and Menlo Ventures.

Key Points :

  • Rapid Growth and Market Demand

  • The company is projected to reach a $200 million annual revenue run rate. This shows strong demand for its platform.

  • Higgsfield’s tools help with video creation from start to finish. About 85% of its users are social media marketers.

  • What Sets Higgsfield Apart

  • Higgsfield doesn’t build foundational AI models like OpenAI or Google. Instead, it integrates third-party AI systems. It also uses its own "reasoning engine" to keep the content consistent. This is important for branding and animated characters.

  • The platform addresses the rising need for AI-generated marketing and creative video content. This is a new area in generative AI.

  • Plans for the Future

  • Higgsfield plans to use the new funding to expand internationally. It aims to grow its workforce from about 70 to 300 employees and boost enterprise sales and R&D.

  • Why this matters: This funding and valuation, early in Higgsfield’s journey, show the strong competition among AI startups. They aim to create practical tools based on foundational generative models.

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