Thunderbird, Open Source Email Client, moving to MZLA

January 28, open source email client Thunderbird development team announced that Thunderbird project was moving to MZLA Technologies, a subsidiary of Mozilla. By moving into a corporate entity, they will be able to have “more flexibility and agility” to develop new products and services.

In 2017, Mozilla made it clear that they would move Thunderbird project from the foundation. Although whether this was going to happen was unclear for a while, according to the project, they acknowledge the charitable donations made by Thunderbird users had helped the project grow organically within Mozilla Foundation.

MZLA Technologies is a US-based 100% subsidiary founded by non-profit organization Mozilla Foundation in September 2019. They promise that this move will not affect any everyday operations and missions, and that they will continue to be a free open-source project. At the same time, by moving under MZLA, they will be able to make revenues through partnerships and non-charitable donations, which will cover the cost of new products and services. They said that this move “will not only allow the Thunderbird project more flexibility and agility, but will also allow us to explore offering our users products and services that were not possible under the Mozilla Foundation,”

Thunderbird
https://www.thunderbird.net/