After appointing an interim CEO earlier this month, Mozilla, the organization behind the Firefox browser, is implementing significant shifts in its product strategy. The company plans to reduce investments in several products, including its VPN, Relay, and Online Footprint Scrubber. Additionally, Mozilla will be shutting down Hubs, the 3D virtual world launched in 2018, and scaling back its support for the mozilla.social Mastodon instance. These changes will result in approximately 60 layoffs, as reported earlier by Bloomberg.
According to an internal memo released by the company, Mozilla's future focus will center on integrating “trustworthy AI into Firefox.” This initiative will involve consolidating teams dedicated to Pocket, Content, and AI/ML to enhance collaboration and innovation.
In recent years, Mozilla expanded its product offerings while Firefox experienced a decline in market share. Although leadership faced considerable criticism for this approach, they maintained that diversifying the product lineup was essential for the organization's long-term viability. While Firefox generates the majority of Mozilla's revenue, this dependency on Google for partnerships posed challenges. With the current changes, it appears that Mozilla is now poised to refocus on revitalizing Firefox, a move that is likely to please dedicated Firefox enthusiasts.
Here’s the complete internal memo:
Scaling Back Investment in mozilla.social: In 2023, we made a substantial commitment to create a safer, improved social media environment through our mozilla.social initiative based on Mastodon and the Fediverse. Although our goal was to scale quickly to influence social media's future effectively, we encountered challenges in executing this plan. In hindsight, a more measured strategy would have allowed for greater agility in engaging with the Mastodon ecosystem. Today's decisions will allow us to make a strategic adjustment, streamlining efforts with a smaller team to better participate in the Mastodon community and rapidly deliver smaller experiments to users on the mozilla.social instance.
Protection Experimentation & Identity (PXI): We are reducing our investment in certain standalone consumer products in the Security and Privacy sectors. This includes scaling back our efforts in VPN, Relay, and Online Footprint Scrubber in highly competitive market segments where differentiation has proven difficult. However, we will continue to invest in products that address evolving customer needs in growing market areas.
Hubs: Since the start of 2023, we have noted a decline in demand for 3D virtual worlds, except in gaming, education, or specific niche applications. This trend impacts all industry players. Hubs’ user base is insufficient to warrant continued investment in light of these market dynamics. We will phase out the service and provide customers with a comprehensive exit plan.
Optimizing the People Team: Due to the workforce reduction and upcoming budget constraints in Mozilla's product division, we are consolidating certain roles within the People and support services teams to ensure that we provide appropriate support for our product offerings.
The rapid advancements in generative AI in 2023 have reshaped our industry. Mozilla is seizing this opportunity to integrate trustworthy AI into Firefox, largely fueled by the acquisition of Fakespot and the subsequent integration efforts. Additionally, aiding users in discovering quality content remains crucial. As part of these changes, we will align Pocket, Content, and the AI/ML teams with the Firefox organization. Further details regarding organizational changes will be shared soon. No structural adjustments will occur within MDN, Ads, or Fakespot, nor will there be changes to Legal/Policy, Finance & Business Operations, Marketing, or Strategy & Operations.
Correction: In a prior announcement, we mistakenly stated that Mozilla launched its Online Footprint Scrubber last week. In reality, the product introduced was Mozilla Monitor, which is similar but distinct. We’ve corrected this information for clarity.
What’s Next for Mozilla?
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