About Trace Foundation

Trace Foundation, Inc. was incorporated in Massachusetts in March 2026 as a nonprofit under Chapter 180 of the Massachusetts General Laws. We organized for charitable, educational, and scientific purposes: to develop free public information resources, to educate the public about the impact of technology practices on consumers, communities, and creative professionals, and to conduct and publish research related to corporate technology practices and their societal effects.

The idea started earlier, with a simple question we kept asking and never finding a good answer to: how is this company actually using AI? The information existed, scattered across press releases, regulatory filings, blog posts, and news articles. But no one had gathered it into a single, citable source.

We surveyed 70 people and found that 94% wished a single, reliable resource for corporate AI practices existed. That was enough to start building.

AI Trace is our first project: a free, community-driven transparency platform tracking corporate AI use. Every entry is backed by cited sources and reviewed by a human moderator before it goes live.

The platform is neutral by design. We document what companies do, not how people should feel about it. There is no paywall, no premium tier, and no advertising. The Foundation's work extends beyond AI Trace: our charter covers the broader impact of emerging technologies on the public, and we intend to develop additional research and transparency resources as we grow.

AI Trace is built and maintained by a two-person team and sustained entirely by individual donations. We accept no advertising revenue, corporate sponsorship, or institutional grants. This independence is by design: no funder, sponsor, or partner has any influence over what we document or how we document it.

Trace Foundation, Inc. is a Massachusetts nonprofit corporation organized under Chapter 180 of the Massachusetts General Laws. We have applied for recognition of tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

If you represent a research institution or organization interested in collaboration, we welcome the conversation.

AI Trace is free because we believe transparency infrastructure should be accessible to everyone. Your support helps us maintain editorial independence, keep the platform running, and expand our coverage of corporate AI practices.

Every dollar goes toward platform maintenance, research, and growing the most comprehensive public resource for corporate AI practices.

You can also help by submitting evidence, spreading the word, or citing AI Trace in your research.