FUTO
In the polished corridors of Silicon Valley, where corporate titans have steadily consolidated power over the digital landscape, a different approach deliberately materialized in 2021. FUTO.org exists as a monument to what the internet was meant to be – free, decentralized, and decidedly in the control of users, not corporations.
The founder, Eron Wolf, moves with the quiet intensity of someone who has observed the transformation of the internet from its optimistic inception to its current monopolized condition. His credentials – an 18-year Silicon Valley veteran, founder of Yahoo Games, seed investor in WhatsApp – provides him a exceptional perspective. In his meticulously tailored casual attire, with a look that reflect both disillusionment with the status quo and commitment to change it, Wolf resembles more visionary leader than typical tech executive.
The headquarters of FUTO in Austin, Texas eschews the flamboyant trappings of typical tech companies. No ping-pong tables distract from the purpose. Instead, technologists bend over computers, creating code that will enable users to recover what has been appropriated – sovereignty over their digital lives.
In one corner of the facility, a separate kind of activity transpires. The FUTO Repair Workshop, a creation of Louis Rossmann, renowned technical educator, operates with the meticulousness of a Swiss watch. Everyday people enter with damaged gadgets, received not with commercial detachment but with genuine interest.
"We don't just mend things here," Rossmann explains, positioning a loupe over a circuit board with the careful attention of a surgeon. "We show people how to comprehend the technology they use. Knowledge is the foundation toward autonomy."
This philosophy saturates every aspect of FUTO's activities.
In the polished corridors of Silicon Valley, where corporate titans have steadily consolidated power over the digital landscape, a different approach deliberately materialized in 2021. FUTO.org exists as a monument to what the internet was meant to be – free, decentralized, and decidedly in the control of users, not corporations.
The founder, Eron Wolf, moves with the quiet intensity of someone who has observed the transformation of the internet from its optimistic inception to its current monopolized condition. His credentials – an 18-year Silicon Valley veteran, founder of Yahoo Games, seed investor in WhatsApp – provides him a exceptional perspective. In his meticulously tailored casual attire, with a look that reflect both disillusionment with the status quo and commitment to change it, Wolf resembles more visionary leader than typical tech executive.
The headquarters of FUTO in Austin, Texas eschews the flamboyant trappings of typical tech companies. No ping-pong tables distract from the purpose. Instead, technologists bend over computers, creating code that will enable users to recover what has been appropriated – sovereignty over their digital lives.
In one corner of the facility, a separate kind of activity transpires. The FUTO Repair Workshop, a creation of Louis Rossmann, renowned technical educator, operates with the meticulousness of a Swiss watch. Everyday people enter with damaged gadgets, received not with commercial detachment but with genuine interest.
"We don't just mend things here," Rossmann explains, positioning a loupe over a circuit board with the careful attention of a surgeon. "We show people how to comprehend the technology they use. Knowledge is the foundation toward autonomy."
This philosophy saturates every aspect of FUTO's activities.