A new consortium aims to bring order to the rapidly multiplying world of AI agents by creating standardized frameworks that enable them to work together across platforms. This initiative, launched by Cisco‘s R&D division (Outshift), agent orchestration specialist LangChain, and trust and observability expert Galileo, addresses a critical need in AI development: while individual AI agents can handle simple tasks, their true potential lies in collaboration—but without standards, this potential remains largely untapped.
The big picture: Cisco, LangChain, and Galileo have founded AGNTCY, an open-source collective building infrastructure for what they call “a Cambrian explosion of AI agents,” referencing the period 500 million years ago when complex life rapidly diversified on Earth.
- The consortium aims to define and build an open, interoperable “Internet of Agents” that can work across different vendors and organizational boundaries.
- This standardization effort could transform the AI agent ecosystem from a potential free-for-all into a more structured, plugin-based environment.
Key details: AGNTCY is focusing its initial work on three foundational components designed to enable agent discovery, description, and communication.
- An “agent directory” will function like an app store, allowing users to search for agents based on specific capabilities while providing reputation and quality metrics.
- The “open agent schema framework” will establish a metadata format describing agent capabilities, enabling directories and discovery tools to catalog available options.
- The “Agent Connect protocol and SDK” will serve as an interoperability layer allowing agents from different vendors to exchange messages, share context, and manage state.
Why this matters: Standardizing how AI agents interact addresses a critical gap in the rapidly evolving AI landscape, potentially preventing fragmentation while enabling more complex collaborative workflows.
- Without established protocols for agent interaction, organizations face increasing complexity managing multiple disconnected AI systems.
- Standardization could accelerate adoption by making it easier to discover, deploy and orchestrate AI agents across organizational boundaries.
Resources available: AGNTCY has established multiple channels for the developer community to engage with and contribute to these emerging standards.
- Detailed specifications for both the Agent Directory and Open Agent Schema Framework are available on GitHub.
- The consortium’s website (agntcy.org) provides additional information on the initiative and ways to participate.
Recent Stories
DOE fusion roadmap targets 2030s commercial deployment as AI drives $9B investment
The Department of Energy has released a new roadmap targeting commercial-scale fusion power deployment by the mid-2030s, though the plan lacks specific funding commitments and relies on scientific breakthroughs that have eluded researchers for decades. The strategy emphasizes public-private partnerships and positions AI as both a research tool and motivation for developing fusion energy to meet data centers' growing electricity demands. The big picture: The DOE's roadmap aims to "deliver the public infrastructure that supports the fusion private sector scale up in the 2030s," but acknowledges it cannot commit to specific funding levels and remains subject to Congressional appropriations. Why...
Oct 17, 2025Tying it all together: Credo’s purple cables power the $4B AI data center boom
Credo, a Silicon Valley semiconductor company specializing in data center cables and chips, has seen its stock price more than double this year to $143.61, following a 245% surge in 2024. The company's signature purple cables, which cost between $300-$500 each, have become essential infrastructure for AI data centers, positioning Credo to capitalize on the trillion-dollar AI infrastructure expansion as hyperscalers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Elon Musk's xAI rapidly build out massive computing facilities. What you should know: Credo's active electrical cables (AECs) are becoming indispensable for connecting the massive GPU clusters required for AI training and inference. The company...
Oct 17, 2025Vatican launches Latin American AI network for human development
The Vatican hosted a two-day conference bringing together 50 global experts to explore how artificial intelligence can advance peace, social justice, and human development. The event launched the Latin American AI Network for Integral Human Development and established principles for ethical AI governance that prioritize human dignity over technological advancement. What you should know: The Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, the Vatican's research body for social issues, organized the "Digital Rerum Novarum" conference on October 16-17, combining academic research with practical AI applications. Participants included leading experts from MIT, Microsoft, Columbia University, the UN, and major European institutions. The conference...