Mozilla Corporation installs Firefox driver in CEO reboot
(2025/12/16)
- Reference: 1765890971
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/12/16/mozilla_corporation_new_ceo/
- Source link:
Mozilla Corporation on Tuesday said it has appointed Anthony Enzor-DeMeo as Chief Executive Officer, replacing Laura Chambers, who served as interim CEO for the past two years.
Enzor-DeMeo has been [1]the general manager of Firefox since August 2025. He joined Mozilla in December 2024 from Roofstock, a platform for real estate investors focused on the single-family rental market.
His appointment came with a commitment to expand Mozilla's involvement with AI services. According to the public benefit company, Enzor-DeMeo's browser stewardship has accelerated improvements in Firefox and has shown how Mozilla can responsibly integrate AI with the browsing experience. Firefox, the company claims, has enjoyed double-digit growth on mobile devices each of the past two years, and its market share has stabilized on the desktop.
We absolutely hear that some people want AI and some people don't
Mozilla cites AI-based features like Shake to Summarize on iOS, and AI Window as examples of Mozilla's approach to building AI in a way that's helpful and transparent.
"The browser is AI's next battleground," said Enzor-DeMeo in a statement provided to The Register . "It's where people live their online lives and where the next era's questions of trust, data use, and transparency will be decided."
[2]
The management transition also includes a new chief marketing officer, John Solomon, and the elevation of Ajit Varma from VP of Firefox Product to head of Firefox.
[3]
[4]
Mozilla [5]signaled its interest in AI in early 2024, after a round of layoffs and close to the time when [6]Chambers took over from Mitchell Baker .
Mozilla Foundation, which oversees subsidiaries Mozilla Corporation ( [7]Firefox ), MZLA Technologies Corporation ( [8]Thunderbird ), [9]Mozilla AI , and [10]Mozilla Ventures , also [11]laid off staff in November 2024.
[12]
In January 2025, [13]Mozilla Foundation president Mark Surman published [14]a post alongside the release of the Foundation's 2022-2023 Annual Report in which he outlined Mozilla's effort to reinvent itself and remain relevant.
Since then, companies like Perplexity and OpenAI have integrated AI automation tools into their browsers, and leading browser makers like Google have taken similar steps.
And it has become clear that there's growing competition among browser makers and AI companies to redefine how people engage with the web and to promote automated interaction as an acceptable alternative to human-guided browsing.
[15]
With the appointment of a new CEO, Surman told The Register in an interview on Monday, "You're gonna see, I think, an even deeper investment in reviving the browser as a really vibrant space."
Surman said we're in what some people describe as the third browser war, "a period where, because of AI, people are launching new browsers and looking at what the technology can do," he said. "In general, you'll see more fundamental innovation happening around the browser to give developers more capabilities."
The renewed focus on Firefox within Mozilla Corporation, Surman said, has internal and external explanations. "Internally, I think we haven't had the leadership for the last few years to really drive us technically on what's possible with the tech stack we have," he said.
"The external reason is really that the market for browsers and the space for innovation over browsers is really in motion again. And people have written browsers off as a commodity. Other people are innovating, and it creates a really good context for us to do the same again and to reinvest there."
[16]Trump, Republicans try again to stop states from regulating AI
[17]Latest Servo release hints at a real Rust alternative to Chromium
[18]Firefox adds AI Window, users want AI wall to keep it out
[19]Who's watching the watchers? This Mozilla fellow, and her Surveillance Watch map
It's not just Mozilla Corporation and Firefox that are scrambling to reinvent themselves. Mozilla Foundation and its subsidiaries are trying to do that too. Surman explained that this is happening in two different ways.
"One is sort of broadening the focus, and the other is diversifying revenue," said Surman.
Mozilla's reputation in part rests upon its commitment to privacy, and that hasn't changed, Surman insists.
"Our promise forever has been 'We don't touch data,'" he said. "And so a lot of the changes in the last few years are figuring out how do we continue to stand for the manifesto and get into shaping the direction of AI in a way that is more human, still respects privacy, and all those kind of things."
What that means on a practical level, he said, can be seen in the formation of Mozilla Ventures and of Mozilla AI. The recruitment of talent to improve Firefox and Thunderbird, is another example of Mozilla’s changes, as are efforts to build AI in a way that gives people control and choice.
"The big change in the business is at this point fairly internal and structural, to set us up to tackle AI in a way that reflects Mozilla's values," said Surman.
As to diversifying revenue, Surman said one of the ways Mozilla is doing so is through privacy-respecting ads in Firefox.
"And so over the course of the last couple of years, you started to see a bigger chunk of our revenue come from that," he said. "I think we're now probably down to 85-ish percent search revenue."
Previously, he said payments from Google accounted for around 95 percent of revenue.
Asked whether the shift toward AI-driven search as an alternative to traditional search has affected Firefox's search revenue, Surman insisted it hasn't had a meaningful impact.
Surman said that it's too early to say whether integrating AI into Firefox has impacted browser usage, because the [20]AI Window feature hasn't yet launched. But he emphasized that Mozilla remains committed to user choice.
"We absolutely hear that some people want AI and some people don't," he said. "And so one of the things we're doing is looking at how we provide AI in the browser in a way that reflects Mozilla's values to those people who want it, and leave it completely optional so that it's not there for people who don't."
Beyond AI controls in Firefox, Surman said the reason Mozilla AI was spun out into a separate company was to push for open source to become the industry standard in AI. "That's a big piece of being in control," he said. "You're not tied into an API. You're not just renting from a cloud AI provider. You can put it on your own machine or your own AWS instance. And I think a huge part of what you'll see us doing more of over the next year or two is really working with developers on open source AI because it's about that kind of choice." ®
Get our [21]Tech Resources
[1] https://blog.mozilla.org/en/firefox/promoted/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aUGQLHTX7jwD_MtPnvaRgAAAAJU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aUGQLHTX7jwD_MtPnvaRgAAAAJU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aUGQLHTX7jwD_MtPnvaRgAAAAJU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/14/mozilla_layoffs_ai_pivot/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/09/mozilla_ceo_mitchell_baker_departs/
[7] https://www.firefox.com
[8] https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/about/
[9] https://www.mozilla.ai/
[10] https://mozilla.vc/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/06/mozilla_foundation_layoffs/
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aUGQLHTX7jwD_MtPnvaRgAAAAJU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/17/nabiha_syed_remakes_mozilla_foundation/
[14] https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/foundation/annualreport/2024/article/evolving-together-redefining-mozilla-in-the-ai-era/
[15] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aUGQLHTX7jwD_MtPnvaRgAAAAJU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/20/trump_republicans_trying_again_to/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/18/servo_002_arrives/
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/13/firefox_adds_ai_window/
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/08/mozilla_fellow_al_shafei/
[20] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/13/firefox_adds_ai_window/
[21] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Enzor-DeMeo has been [1]the general manager of Firefox since August 2025. He joined Mozilla in December 2024 from Roofstock, a platform for real estate investors focused on the single-family rental market.
His appointment came with a commitment to expand Mozilla's involvement with AI services. According to the public benefit company, Enzor-DeMeo's browser stewardship has accelerated improvements in Firefox and has shown how Mozilla can responsibly integrate AI with the browsing experience. Firefox, the company claims, has enjoyed double-digit growth on mobile devices each of the past two years, and its market share has stabilized on the desktop.
We absolutely hear that some people want AI and some people don't
Mozilla cites AI-based features like Shake to Summarize on iOS, and AI Window as examples of Mozilla's approach to building AI in a way that's helpful and transparent.
"The browser is AI's next battleground," said Enzor-DeMeo in a statement provided to The Register . "It's where people live their online lives and where the next era's questions of trust, data use, and transparency will be decided."
[2]
The management transition also includes a new chief marketing officer, John Solomon, and the elevation of Ajit Varma from VP of Firefox Product to head of Firefox.
[3]
[4]
Mozilla [5]signaled its interest in AI in early 2024, after a round of layoffs and close to the time when [6]Chambers took over from Mitchell Baker .
Mozilla Foundation, which oversees subsidiaries Mozilla Corporation ( [7]Firefox ), MZLA Technologies Corporation ( [8]Thunderbird ), [9]Mozilla AI , and [10]Mozilla Ventures , also [11]laid off staff in November 2024.
[12]
In January 2025, [13]Mozilla Foundation president Mark Surman published [14]a post alongside the release of the Foundation's 2022-2023 Annual Report in which he outlined Mozilla's effort to reinvent itself and remain relevant.
Since then, companies like Perplexity and OpenAI have integrated AI automation tools into their browsers, and leading browser makers like Google have taken similar steps.
And it has become clear that there's growing competition among browser makers and AI companies to redefine how people engage with the web and to promote automated interaction as an acceptable alternative to human-guided browsing.
[15]
With the appointment of a new CEO, Surman told The Register in an interview on Monday, "You're gonna see, I think, an even deeper investment in reviving the browser as a really vibrant space."
Surman said we're in what some people describe as the third browser war, "a period where, because of AI, people are launching new browsers and looking at what the technology can do," he said. "In general, you'll see more fundamental innovation happening around the browser to give developers more capabilities."
The renewed focus on Firefox within Mozilla Corporation, Surman said, has internal and external explanations. "Internally, I think we haven't had the leadership for the last few years to really drive us technically on what's possible with the tech stack we have," he said.
"The external reason is really that the market for browsers and the space for innovation over browsers is really in motion again. And people have written browsers off as a commodity. Other people are innovating, and it creates a really good context for us to do the same again and to reinvest there."
[16]Trump, Republicans try again to stop states from regulating AI
[17]Latest Servo release hints at a real Rust alternative to Chromium
[18]Firefox adds AI Window, users want AI wall to keep it out
[19]Who's watching the watchers? This Mozilla fellow, and her Surveillance Watch map
It's not just Mozilla Corporation and Firefox that are scrambling to reinvent themselves. Mozilla Foundation and its subsidiaries are trying to do that too. Surman explained that this is happening in two different ways.
"One is sort of broadening the focus, and the other is diversifying revenue," said Surman.
Mozilla's reputation in part rests upon its commitment to privacy, and that hasn't changed, Surman insists.
"Our promise forever has been 'We don't touch data,'" he said. "And so a lot of the changes in the last few years are figuring out how do we continue to stand for the manifesto and get into shaping the direction of AI in a way that is more human, still respects privacy, and all those kind of things."
What that means on a practical level, he said, can be seen in the formation of Mozilla Ventures and of Mozilla AI. The recruitment of talent to improve Firefox and Thunderbird, is another example of Mozilla’s changes, as are efforts to build AI in a way that gives people control and choice.
"The big change in the business is at this point fairly internal and structural, to set us up to tackle AI in a way that reflects Mozilla's values," said Surman.
As to diversifying revenue, Surman said one of the ways Mozilla is doing so is through privacy-respecting ads in Firefox.
"And so over the course of the last couple of years, you started to see a bigger chunk of our revenue come from that," he said. "I think we're now probably down to 85-ish percent search revenue."
Previously, he said payments from Google accounted for around 95 percent of revenue.
Asked whether the shift toward AI-driven search as an alternative to traditional search has affected Firefox's search revenue, Surman insisted it hasn't had a meaningful impact.
Surman said that it's too early to say whether integrating AI into Firefox has impacted browser usage, because the [20]AI Window feature hasn't yet launched. But he emphasized that Mozilla remains committed to user choice.
"We absolutely hear that some people want AI and some people don't," he said. "And so one of the things we're doing is looking at how we provide AI in the browser in a way that reflects Mozilla's values to those people who want it, and leave it completely optional so that it's not there for people who don't."
Beyond AI controls in Firefox, Surman said the reason Mozilla AI was spun out into a separate company was to push for open source to become the industry standard in AI. "That's a big piece of being in control," he said. "You're not tied into an API. You're not just renting from a cloud AI provider. You can put it on your own machine or your own AWS instance. And I think a huge part of what you'll see us doing more of over the next year or two is really working with developers on open source AI because it's about that kind of choice." ®
Get our [21]Tech Resources
[1] https://blog.mozilla.org/en/firefox/promoted/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aUGQLHTX7jwD_MtPnvaRgAAAAJU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aUGQLHTX7jwD_MtPnvaRgAAAAJU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aUGQLHTX7jwD_MtPnvaRgAAAAJU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/14/mozilla_layoffs_ai_pivot/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/09/mozilla_ceo_mitchell_baker_departs/
[7] https://www.firefox.com
[8] https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/about/
[9] https://www.mozilla.ai/
[10] https://mozilla.vc/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/06/mozilla_foundation_layoffs/
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aUGQLHTX7jwD_MtPnvaRgAAAAJU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/17/nabiha_syed_remakes_mozilla_foundation/
[14] https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/foundation/annualreport/2024/article/evolving-together-redefining-mozilla-in-the-ai-era/
[15] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aUGQLHTX7jwD_MtPnvaRgAAAAJU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/20/trump_republicans_trying_again_to/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/18/servo_002_arrives/
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/13/firefox_adds_ai_window/
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/08/mozilla_fellow_al_shafei/
[20] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/13/firefox_adds_ai_window/
[21] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
iam_sysop
Lazy Technology (pronounced AI) will be the end of us all --
jonha
On the desktop I've long left FF in the dust... either it's Pale Moon or Vivaldi (+uBlock +CookieManagement). On mobile I'm still with FF (fennec from f-droid, to be exact) mostly because it supports the same extensions I use on the desktop. But its days are numbered and more AI will only hasten this. If I want(ed) AI, I know where I can find it.
AI is a bubble, not a battleground
rewt
And no the browser is especiallly not the next AI battleground, LEAVE IT ALONE
Re: AI is a bubble, not a battleground
Gene Cash
It's a battleground, but that's because I'm fighting to keep AI *OUT*
Thanks for the foundation of LibreWolf, Waterfox and formerly Pale Moon! But that's about it!
El.Mich.
These guys at the top of Mozilla obviously really work very hard to shatter nearly everything that once made Mozilla Mozilla. Or Firefox Firefox.
If I really "needed" AI in my browser I sure would like to be in total control of it. Privacy and security were once the real selling points of Firefox and obviously since several years now some very mighty guys at Mozilla do their utmost to drive Firefox completely to the ground. :-(
Is it really that difficult to find someone to be the CEO of Mozilla that obviously has a thorough track record and background in Firefox, in software development and programming? And of course privacy and security!
PS:
Strongly reminds of this guy from Microsoft who once drove Nokia completely to the ground. Once again history obviously repeats itself ... :-(
"The browser is AI's next battleground," said Enzor-DeMeo in a statement provided to The Register. "It's where people live their online lives and where the next era's questions of trust, data use, and transparency will be decided."
Oh dear. As long as there continues to be easy steps to disabling it in Firefox and no sneaky re-enabling, I suppose I can put up with it till the AI bubble bursts and everyone pretends it never happened. Like blockchains, NFTs and rhe Metaverse.