Mozilla Corporation

Who owns Mozilla?

Mozilla Corporation is wholly owned by the nonprofit Mozilla Foundation. There are no outside shareholders and no stock. Profits fund the Foundation's mission to keep the internet open.

Is Mozilla a nonprofit?

The Mozilla Foundation is a nonprofit, but Mozilla Corporation, which builds Firefox, is a taxable for-profit subsidiary. Consolidated reporting shows $680 million in 2024 revenue and $1.4 billion in reserves.

How does Mozilla make money?

Mostly from search royalties, about $498 million in 2024, primarily the deal making Google Firefox's default search engine. Subscriptions like Mozilla VPN and a growing advertising business added $66 million.

Does Google own Mozilla?

No. Google is Mozilla's largest revenue partner through the search agreement, but it holds no ownership stake. The Mozilla Foundation fully owns Mozilla Corporation.

Is Thunderbird part of Mozilla?

Yes. Thunderbird is developed by MZLA Technologies Corporation, a subsidiary within the Mozilla organization, funded largely by user donations.

Who is the CEO of Mozilla?

Anthony Enzor-DeMeo became CEO of Mozilla Corporation in late 2025. Mitchell Baker serves as executive chairwoman of the broader Mozilla organization.

The Mozilla project began inside Netscape Communications, which released its browser source code in 1998. When AOL acquired Netscape and later ended browser development, the nonprofit Mozilla Foundation was established in July 2003 to carry the work forward. Firefox 1.0 launched in November 2004 and quickly took share from Internet Explorer.

Mozilla Corporation was formed in August 2005 as a taxable subsidiary so the project could sign commercial search deals at scale. The Google search agreement, first signed in 2004 and renewed many times since, became the financial engine that funded Firefox development for two decades.

Through the 2010s the corporation diversified: Thunderbird was spun into the community and later returned under subsidiary MZLA Technologies, the Pocket read-later app was acquired in 2017, and Mozilla VPN launched in 2020. The organization weathered periodic leadership changes and a widely criticized 2021 cryptocurrency donation experiment.

Recent years brought significant restructuring. Roughly 30 percent of staff were cut in a 2024 reorganization that refocused the company on Firefox and new revenue bets. Pocket and Fakespot were shut down in 2025. Anthony Enzor-DeMeo, previously general manager of Firefox, became CEO in late 2025, succeeding Laura Chambers, as Mozilla pivots toward AI features inside Firefox and diversification away from search royalties.

Mozilla publishes an annual State of Mozilla report with audited consolidated financials, unusual transparency for a private company. Its advocacy arm funds internet health research, fellows, and policy campaigns on privacy, AI accountability and platform power. The organization maintains a public manifesto guiding product decisions.

Firefox has won repeated recognition from privacy organizations and consumer reviewers for its tracking protection defaults. Mozilla Foundation fellows and its Internet Health Report are cited regularly in technology policy debates, and the organization has received honors from digital rights groups for its advocacy work.

Mozilla drew criticism in 2014 over CEO Brendan Eich's resignation after public backlash, and again in 2021 for briefly accepting cryptocurrency donations. The 2024 layoffs that cut around 30 percent of staff, including advocacy and diversity program roles, prompted debate about priorities. The company has also faced scrutiny over whether default search revenue compromises its independence from Google, a tension it addresses in public filings.