Steve Teixeira, the owner of Mozilla, released on May 2nd that his company had purchased Fakespot, an AI product review company. As shared in his own personal blog, he “couldn’t be more thrilled” about some of the details surrounding this acquisition.
Mozilla
Mozilla is a proven organization near the top of the tech world specifically in the realm of internet development. The company is best known for its staunch commitment to an open and accessible browsing experience. After being born in 1998, its Firefox web browser quickly became a hit and helped it establish a seat at the table with the mainline internet browsers of its day.
Decades later, Mozilla’s success with Firefox has multiplied into several other aspects of technology. They have either remained under Mozilla’s umbrella of leadership or taken off on their own after exciting side projects slowly morphed into stable companies. Rust, for example, is an active programming language with characteristics of speed and efficiency. Originally, it was the brainchild of Mozilla. In the territory of communication and email, Thunderbird has cruised along for the last 20 years and just keeps getting better. Thunderbird is well-rated and focuses primarily on privacy and security. This is seen as a must in the realm of business and the computer-hacking world we live in.
From Firefox to Thunderbird and others, Teixeira and his team have launched significant technology for users worldwide.
Fakespot
Fakespot is a far younger company with a different twist to its entanglement in technology. Developed in 2016, Fakespot serves as an AI assistant for people buying things.
The AI “spots” the “fakes” of whatever type of product the individual is wanting to purchase. Then, it lets the customer know the quality of the item by way of a letter grade. As shared on GadgetReview, Fakespot doesn’t only do this sort of review analysis, but it also actively finds better offers on other websites for buyers to consider as well as ‘FakeSpot Guard’, which keeps one alerted of suspicious scammers.
Supported by companies like Amazon, Best Buy, etc., Fakespot has won over both big business and at-home buyers alike.
The Mozilla Splurge and Merge
So why the splurge of Steve Teixeira and his team of developers to buy Fakespot? Mutual interest.
In a recent statement on Mozilla, Teixeira shared that Fakespot is a natural fit for Mozilla to acquire. Both organizations pursue quality and security for customers in an ethical way:
“As Mozilla continues to expand our work around ethical AI and responsible advertising, Fakespot is a natural fit. The data shows that people who use Fakespot also have higher satisfaction with their purchases and return products less often, which means the environment benefits from a reduction in packaging and shipping…(This in mind), the addition of Fakespot’s capabilities will make Firefox customers the best equipped to cut through deceptive reviews and shop with the confidence of knowing what they’re buying is high-quality and authentic. This is a great proof point of the work we’re doing to make Firefox the browser that truly puts the customer experience first.”
Mozilla Firefox has a long history and expertise in providing internet users with predictably safe and satisfying web browsing. Fakespot has a similar tout in the world of shopping. Given this, merging makes sense. The initiative and drive Mozilla has for meaningful experience online equally matches the heart of Fakespot to do the same, especially given that fake reviews (whether man-made or machine-generated) are a “huge problem for consumers and businesses alike” (Axios).
So What Should Users Expect Next?
Existing Firefox users can expect to continue experiencing all the wonders and glories of Firefox, and then some. Fakespot integrates into the Firefox browser in the near future. With this, one extra safeguard for Mozilla users then exists to tap into when looking for the best deals and safest deals online.
Fakespot users will experience a win after the merger as well because Mozilla is proudly committed to investing significant resources into further developing it. Meaning, more features, and richer results are on the horizon.
For further information, read about choosing the best browser for business, how to avoid internet scams, and how businesses can be more eco-friendly.
