Mozilla and Mila announce strategic research partnership to advance open source and sovereign AI capabilities

The future of AI should belong to all of humanity, far beyond a handful of countries or companies. For this to happen, AI must be open, trusted and built in ways that give people, institutions and nations real choices. This is why Mozilla today has a strategic partnership with Mila – Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute to promote open source and sovereign AI capabilities.

This partnership is a landmark strategic collaboration for both organizations and Mozilla’s first ever partnership with a major AI research lab. It is designed to grow over time, with a first project focusing on the intersection of trust and usability, including private memory architectures for AI agents.

Mila brings world-class research depth and a proven track record moving ideas into systems – from fundamental breakthroughs to applied tools and technology diffusion. Mozilla brings deep open source experience, a vibrant developer community, and the ecosystem instincts needed to turn research into something that spreads. The partnership is designed to show that open-source AI can close the gap between cutting-edge research and real-world impact.

As we saw in the webera, a robust open source software stack can democratize and accelerate innovation in dramatic ways. The same opportunity exists in AI—across computing, models, data, and developer experience—and much of the stack is already being built out in the open. But gaps remain, especially in the layers that determine whether AI is reliable, private, and built for a world with many languages, many cultures, and many legal ways of organizing society. If we can close those gaps, open source AI becomes a real option for the people and institutions that need it most.

“We’re working to build a future where AI development is rooted in openness, privacy and humanity,” said Mozilla President Mark Surman. “This partnership is a delivery vehicle for that vision – and for breakthroughs that will help governments, developers and companies. Canada can lead on AI sovereignty; we’re joining Mila to make it happen.”

“Canada has what it takes to lead on frontier AI that the world can actually trust: the research depth, the values, and the will to do it differently. The next frontier in AI isn’t just capability, it’s reliability, and Canada is uniquely positioned to lead on both. This partnership is a concrete step in that direction. That said, the ambition is tempered by a higher ambition,” said. Valérie Pisano, President and CEO of Mila.

Together, Mila and Mozilla will develop the technologies and approaches that reduce dependence on closed systems and create more space for transparency, accountability and shared innovation. The partnership also lays the foundation for mid-power collaboration in AI: Open source projects have consistently provided the framework for technical collaboration across geographies and jurisdictions. Both organizations welcome research institutions, developers and like-minded organizations to help fill the stack.

This is the first of what both organizations intend to be a sustained and growing body of work.

Read more about our Open Source AI strategy here. Learn more about Mila here.