At Cisco, we consider within the energy of collaboration and impartial governance to drive innovation. That’s why we’re proud to affix the newly-formed Agentic AI Basis (AAIF) beneath the Linux Basis as a launch Gold member, supporting its mission to advance open requirements just like the Mannequin Context Protocol (MCP).
MCP, initially created and open-sourced by Anthropic in late 2024, has already gained vital traction as a regular for AI interoperability with software program that buyers use, or are a part of the hardest enterprise environments. With its transition to the LF beneath AAIF, we’re excited that MCP will now be ruled by a impartial, community-driven basis. This transfer is a crucial first step in making MCP a really open customary, constructed by and for the builders targeted on driving real-world use instances. We predict a full stack of agentic AI open supply tasks to be part of AAIF over time, together with the founding contributions of Block’s goose and Open AI’s AGENTS.md tasks.
Cisco’s Dedication to Constructing within the Open
Brokers want to have the ability to work collectively to be really helpful. They should freely discover one another, talk, and collaborative on delivering outcomes: A actuality that has but to be achieved. To harness the true transformative potential of AI, the necessity for open, interoperable frameworks has by no means been extra crucial.
We’re targeted on fostering a thriving ecosystem for agentic AI the place brokers can work securely and seamlessly throughout frameworks and distributors. As lively technical steering committee members of each the Agent2Agent (A2A) Protocol venture and the AGNTCY venture, we’ve participated in guaranteeing they each joined the Linux Basis previously yr. With MCP being a core a part of the AGNTCY structure since launch, we consider the AAIF is one other key piece of this puzzle.
What’s AGNTCY, and Why Does It Matter?
We’ve got most intently been concerned within the improvement of an open Web of Brokers by means of co-founding and constructing the AGNTCY venture.
Suppose again to the early web—we wanted TCP/IP, DNS, HTTP, and different important parts earlier than something helpful might occur. That’s what AGNTCY is constructing for multi-agent techniques: the invention mechanisms, identification and belief, the messaging layer – supporting MCP, A2A and different protocols, and observability instruments for end-to-end operation. The end result? Brokers from completely different organizations uncover one another, authenticate, and collaborate securely.
Outshift by Cisco donated the preliminary code and specs to the Linux Basis as a result of this infrastructure wants impartial governance. No single companyshould management how brokers work with one another—walled gardens stifle innovation. The Linux Basis offers this impartial stewardship, with formative members like Cisco, Dell Applied sciences, Google Cloud, Oracle, and Crimson Hat working alongside the neighborhood to construct specs, code, and providers that anybody can use.
The Highway Forward
Whereas the transition of MCP to the AAIF is a big milestone, it’s just the start. Key protocols and tasks are nonetheless working as islands and there may be a lot work to be completed to deliver the neighborhood collectively. The Web of Brokers is not going to be constructed by anybody firm or framework—it can require collaboration throughout your complete ecosystem.
At Cisco, we’re dedicated to doing this work. We’re investing in open requirements, supporting initiatives like MCP, A2A, and AGNTCY, and dealing with the broader neighborhood to sew these core tasks collectively. We consider that is the one path ahead for reaching a shared imaginative and prescient of agentic AI success that fosters belief, innovation, and collaboration.
The way forward for agentic AI is a shared journey, and we’re proud to be a part of it.
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