OpenAI and Partners Launch the Agentic AI Foundation for Open-Source AI Development
Peter Zhang Dec 09, 2025 17:56
OpenAI, Anthropic, and Block, supported by tech giants, establish the Agentic AI Foundation under the Linux Foundation to advance open-source agentic AI infrastructure.
In a significant move for the artificial intelligence community, OpenAI, in collaboration with Anthropic and Block, has co-founded the Agentic AI Foundation (AAIF) under the auspices of the Linux Foundation. This initiative, supported by industry leaders such as Google, Microsoft, AWS, Bloomberg, and Cloudflare, aims to develop open-source standards for agentic AI systems as they transition from experimental phases to real-world applications, according to OpenAI.
The Role of Open Standards
The foundation's mission is to create a neutral ground for developing interoperable infrastructure for AI agents. As AI technology becomes increasingly integrated into business and consumer environments, the need for standardized protocols grows. Open standards are crucial for ensuring that AI systems can operate safely, efficiently, and across various platforms without the risk of fragmentation.
OpenAI's contribution to the AAIF includes the AGENTS.md, a straightforward open format providing agents with project-specific instructions. This effort is designed to facilitate long-term support and widespread adoption across the AI community.
Building the Open Ecosystem
Over the past year, OpenAI has been instrumental in developing open-source agentic infrastructure. Contributions include the Agents SDK, Apps SDK, and the Agentic Commerce Protocol, alongside open-source initiatives like the gpt-oss models and Codex CLI. These resources have significantly impacted the development community, demonstrated by their adoption in over two million public pull requests on GitHub.
OpenAI's efforts have laid the groundwork for AAIF by showcasing the potential of open, interoperable infrastructure. The foundation is envisioned as a collaborative space where developers and enterprises can build upon shared standards, ensuring technological advancements benefit the broader community.
Donating AGENTS.md
The AGENTS.md format, initially developed to provide a consistent source of project-specific guidance for AI coding agents, has already been adopted by over 60,000 open-source projects. By contributing AGENTS.md to the AAIF, OpenAI ensures that the format can evolve with input from diverse tools and communities, preventing any single entity from dominating its development.
The AAIF co-founders are also contributing other projects, such as Anthropic’s Model Context Protocol (MCP) and Block’s Goose, further enriching the foundation's resources.
What the Agentic AI Foundation Enables
The AAIF aims to provide a neutral platform for developing and governing AI interoperability standards. Operating under the Linux Foundation, known for its stewardship of critical open-source projects like the Linux Kernel and Kubernetes, the AAIF is positioned to ensure sustainable, community-led development of agentic AI systems.
With the backing of major industry players, the Agentic AI Foundation is set to foster the transparent and collaborative evolution of AI technologies, benefiting developers, enterprises, and the open-source community at large. The foundation invites contributions from tool builders, researchers, enterprises, and individual developers to further this collaborative effort.
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