Current AI aims to build free, open ‘World Wide Web of AI’

Nonprofit organisation Current AI is working to create a free, open AI ecosystem designed to serve communities and languages often overlooked by commercial AI systems.

Founded in 2025, the organisation says its goal is to build a public alternative to proprietary AI platforms by developing open-source infrastructure that anyone can access. CEO Ayah Bdeir told TechCrunch the vision is similar to the early World Wide Web, where technology was freely available rather than controlled by private companies.

One of Current AI's latest initiatives is Suno Sutra, a pocket-sized offline AI device developed in partnership with the Indian government's AI language division, Bhashini. The open-source device supports 22 Indian languages and works without an internet connection, allowing users in remote areas to access AI-powered assistance.

Current AI secures $400M backing for open-source projects

Current AI has received $400 million in committed funding from governments, foundations and technology companies, including France, the Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Google DeepMind and Salesforce.

The organisation recently distributed $3.2 million in grants to projects across Kenya, Lebanon and Brazil, supporting initiatives ranging from African-language AI datasets for healthcare and agriculture to offline AI tools for Indigenous communities in the Amazon.

Earlier this month, Current AI also launched Alpha Chat, an open-source chatbot built by a coalition of organisations including Hugging Face, Mozilla and the MIT Media Lab. It has also partnered with Japanese startup Sakana AI to develop an open-source AI stack focused on supporting local languages and cultures.

Bdeir argued that while major AI companies are expanding multilingual capabilities, their primary goal is commercial growth. Current AI instead aims to ensure communities retain control over their languages, data and cultural knowledge while benefiting from AI technology.