First Cheque with Cheryl Mack & Maxine Minter Why Every Founder & Investor Needs to Understand Open Source AI (Replay Episode)
Recorded as CEO, Mozilla
About Laura Chambers
Laura Chambers is a member of the board of directors of Mozilla Corporation, the company behind the Firefox browser. She joined the board in 2021 and served as Mozilla's interim chief executive from February 2024 to December 2025, a period that included the rise of AI, a major antitrust case and work to diversify the company's revenue.
Before Mozilla she was chief executive of Willow Innovations, a US maker of wearable breast pumps. She previously led product organisations at Airbnb, PayPal and eBay, where she spent 13 years, and also worked at Skype. She began her career as a consultant with McKinsey & Company and holds an MBA from Stanford University.
On First Cheque, she spoke with Cheryl Mack and Maxine Minter about open-source technology and its role in the future of the internet and AI.
- Talks about
- AI, Product, Leadership, Venture Capital
In conversation.
2 episodes
Start hereFrom Firefox to AI: Mozilla’s Fight for Open TechnologyThe original January 2025 interview on open source, Firefox and the risk of closed AI; the March 2026 episode replays the same conversation.
First Cheque with Cheryl Mack & Maxine Minter 
First Cheque with Cheryl Mack & Maxine Minter From Firefox to AI: Mozilla’s Fight for Open Technology
Recorded as CEO, Mozilla
Go straight to the good bits.
Key moments from Why Every Founder & Investor Needs to Understand Open Source AI (Replay Episode).
- 0:21Why We're Excited About Laura Chambers
- 3:14Interview Begins: Laura's First Investment at Age 10
- 5:20Open Source 101: What It Is & Why It Matters
- 7:08Firefox vs Internet Explorer: The Open Source Origin Story
- 9:58How Healthy Is the Internet Today?
- 13:50Can You Actually Make Money From Open Source?
- 15:45What If the Internet Had Stayed Behind Paywalls?
- 17:33Gen AI Is the New Model T: We're Missing the Seatbelts
- 19:37The Case For & Against Closed Source AI
- 21:35Why Researchers, Academics & Governments Need Open Access
The path so far.
- Now
Board Member · Mozilla
- From 2020 · Scale-up
Chief Executive Officer · Willow Innovations
- Earlier · Scale-up
General Manager, Core Hosts · Airbnb
- Earlier · Scale-up
Executive · Skype
- Earlier · Scale-up
Executive · PayPal
- Earlier
Various roles (13 years) · eBay
- Earlier
Consultant · McKinsey & Company
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Mozilla on Day One
Mozilla is the organisation behind the Firefox web browser. The Mozilla project began in 1998, when Netscape released the source code of its browser, and the non-profit…
1 person · 2 episodes
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