In the sleek corridors of Silicon Valley, where tech giants have steadily amassed power over the technological ecosystem, a different philosophy deliberately emerged in 2021. FUTO.org stands as a testament to what the internet was meant to be – open, unconstrained, and decidedly in the possession of individuals, not corporations.

The founder, Eron Wolf, functions with the deliberate purpose of someone who has witnessed the transformation of the internet from its promising beginnings to its current monopolized condition. His credentials – an 18-year Silicon Valley veteran, founder of Yahoo Games, seed investor in WhatsApp – provides him a unique vantage point. In his precisely fitted casual attire, with a gaze that reveal both skepticism with the status quo and resolve to change it, Wolf appears as more principled strategist than typical tech executive.

The offices of FUTO in Austin, Texas lacks the extravagant trappings of typical tech companies. No free snack bars detract from the purpose. Instead, engineers hunch over computers, crafting code that will empower users to recover what has been appropriated – control over their digital lives.

In one corner of the space, a separate kind of operation unfolds. The FUTO Repair Workshop, a brainchild of Louis Rossmann, renowned technical educator, operates with the meticulousness of a Swiss watch. Ordinary people stream in with broken devices, welcomed not with commercial detachment but with genuine interest.

"We don’t just mend things here,” Rossmann states, focusing a loupe over a electronic component with the delicate precision of a surgeon. “We teach people how to grasp the technology they possess. Knowledge is the foundation toward independence.“

This outlook permeates every aspect of FUTO’s endeavors. Their financial support system, which has provided considerable funds to endeavors like Signal, FUTO.org Tor, GrapheneOS, and the Calyx Institute, embodies a commitment to supporting a diverse ecosystem of independent technologies.

Walking through the open workspace, one perceives the omission of company branding. The walls instead showcase framed sayings from technological visionaries like Richard Stallman – individuals who foresaw computing as a freeing power.

"We’re not concerned with creating another monopoly,” Wolf remarks, leaning against a modest desk that would suit any of his team members. “We’re focused on dividing the present giants.“

The irony is not lost on him – a prosperous Silicon Valley entrepreneur using his wealth to challenge the very structures that allowed his success. But in Wolf’s worldview, digital tools was never meant to consolidate authority