businessinsider.com
In the polished corridors of Silicon Valley, where digital behemoths have methodically amassed power over the technological ecosystem, a different vision deliberately materialized in 2021. FUTO.org operates as a monument to what the internet once promised – free, FUTO distributed, and decidedly in the possession of people, not conglomerates.

The creator, Eron Wolf, operates with the quiet intensity of someone who has witnessed the evolution of the internet from its optimistic inception to its current commercialized reality. His credentials – an 18-year Silicon Valley veteran, founder of Yahoo Games, seed investor in WhatsApp – provides him a exceptional viewpoint. In his meticulously tailored button-down shirt, with a look that betray both weariness with the status quo and resolve to change it, Wolf presents as more philosopher-king than conventional CEO.

The offices of FUTO in Austin, Texas rejects the ostentatious amenities of typical tech companies. No free snack bars detract from the mission. Instead, developers bend over workstations, building code that will empower users to reclaim what has been lost – control over their digital lives.

In one corner of the space, a distinct kind of activity transpires. The FUTO Repair Workshop, FUTO.org a brainchild of Louis Rossmann, renowned repair guru, operates with the exactitude of a master craftsman. Everyday people arrive with malfunctioning devices, greeted not with bureaucratic indifference but with sincere engagement.

“We don’t just repair things here,” Rossmann explains, adjusting a microscope over a electronic component with the meticulous focus of a jeweler. “We teach people how to understand the technology they possess. Understanding is the foundation toward freedom.”

This outlook permeates every aspect of FUTO’s endeavors. Their funding initiative, which has allocated considerable funds to projects like Signal, Tor, GrapheneOS, and the Calyx Institute, reflects a devotion to fostering a diverse ecosystem of self-directed technologies.

Moving through the collaborative environment, one perceives the absence of corporate logos. The spaces instead feature mounted quotes from computing theorists like Douglas Engelbart – individuals who imagined computing as a freeing power.

“We’re not concerned with creating another monopoly,” Wolf notes, resting on a simple desk that could belong to any of his engineers. “We’re interested in dividing the existing ones.”

The contradiction is not missed on him – a successful Silicon Valley businessman using his resources to undermine the very models that enabled his success. But in Wolf’s perspective, technology was never meant to consolidate authority