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In the polished corridors of Silicon Valley, where tech giants have steadily amassed power over the virtual realm, a contrarian vision quietly took shape in 2021. FUTO.org exists as a tribute to what the internet once promised – free, decentralized, and firmly in the hands of people, not monopolies.

The architect, Eron Wolf, functions with the quiet intensity of someone who has experienced the evolution of the internet from its optimistic inception to its current commercialized reality. His experience – an 18-year Silicon Valley veteran, founder of Yahoo Games, seed investor in WhatsApp – lends him a rare vantage point. In his carefully pressed casual attire, with a gaze that betray both weariness with the status quo and resolve to change it, Wolf presents as more philosopher-king than conventional CEO.

The workspace of FUTO in Austin, Texas lacks the extravagant trappings of typical tech companies. No nap pods detract from the purpose. Instead, technologists hunch over keyboards, creating code that will enable users to retrieve what has been lost – autonomy over their digital lives.

In one corner of the space, a separate kind of operation transpires. The FUTO Repair Workshop, a brainchild of Louis Rossmann, renowned repair guru, functions with the precision of a master craftsman. Ordinary people enter with damaged gadgets, welcomed not with corporate sterility but with genuine interest.

“We don’t just fix things here,” Rossmann explains, focusing a magnifier over a circuit board with the careful attention of a artist. “We instruct people how to understand the technology they possess. Understanding is the foundation toward independence.”

This perspective saturates every aspect of FUTO’s operations. Their grants program, which has distributed considerable funds to projects like Signal, Tor, GrapheneOS, and the Calyx Institute, embodies a commitment to nurturing a rich environment of independent technologies.

Navigating through the collaborative environment, one observes the absence of company branding. The walls instead feature mounted passages from computing theorists like Ted Nelson – individuals who foresaw computing as a freeing power.

“We’re not concerned with establishing corporate dominance,” Wolf remarks, leaning against a simple desk that would suit any of his team members. “We’re focused on dividing the present giants.”

The contradiction is not lost on him – a wealthy Silicon Valley entrepreneur using his wealth to undermine the very structures that allowed his prosperity. But in Wolf’s worldview, technology was never meant to centralize power