The collective weight of industry leaders that are now backing an Agent2Agent (A2A) project now led by The Linux Foundation might prove to be the most significant agentic artificial intelligence (AI) of 2025. At an Open Source Summit North America event this week, The Linux Foundation revealed it is rallying industry giants such as Amazon Web Services, Cisco, Google, Microsoft, Salesforce, SAP and ServiceNow around an A2A protocol in a move that marks a major step forward in fostering an open, interoperable ecosystem for AI agents—an essential component of the rapidly evolving AI landscape.
Central to this new project is the transfer of Google’s innovative Agent2Agent (A2A) protocol to The Linux Foundation. Along with the protocol itself, Google will provide essential supporting resources, including SDKs, developer tooling, and comprehensive documentation. The aim is to accelerate adoption, enable easier implementation, and encourage widespread participation across the developer community.
The Agent2Agent (A2A) project is designed to solve a fundamental challenge in the AI ecosystem: the fragmentation and lack of interoperability among diverse AI agents developed by competing organizations. Currently, enterprises deploying multiple AI systems from different vendors often face considerable friction in integrating these tools, leading to inefficiencies, security vulnerabilities, and limited innovation.
By developing a shared, open protocol, the A2A project seeks to establish a universal standard, allowing agents developed by different organizations to seamlessly communicate, collaborate, and exchange information securely. This open standardization mirrors the principles that made foundational internet protocols successful—driving interoperability, innovation and scalability across a range of sectors.
Key objectives for the Agent2Agent project include:
- Creating a robust interoperability standard to ensure seamless agent-to-agent communication, regardless of origin or deployment environment.
- Developing secure and trusted frameworks for authentication, credential exchanges, and data sharing, safeguarding interactions between agents.
- Providing comprehensive and accessible developer tooling and SDKs, reducing barriers to entry for developers and encouraging broader industry engagement.
- Fostering open governance and community-driven development to ensure transparent decision-making, equitable stewardship, and shared roadmap evolution.
The decision to host the project under The Linux Foundation underscores its commitment to neutrality, transparency and collaboration. By bringing together competitors to collaborate on foundational technology, The Linux Foundation provides an environment where industry leaders can confidently contribute resources and expertise without fear of proprietary lock-in or competitive disadvantage.
For the tech community, the implications of the Agent2Agent project are significant. Developers will benefit from clear guidelines and robust tooling, enterprises will enjoy increased flexibility and reduced integration challenges, and the broader industry stands to gain from accelerated innovation cycles as collaborative approaches replace fragmented efforts.
Google’s transfer of the A2A protocol to the Linux Foundation is especially notable, given the protocol’s comprehensive capabilities—including stateless messaging support, secure authentication and scalable interaction models. Google’s accompanying SDKs and developer resources further lower the adoption barrier, positioning the protocol to quickly become foundational across enterprise environments.
Moreover, the collective involvement of leading cloud providers, enterprise SaaS companies, and technology platforms such as AWS, Cisco, Microsoft, Salesforce, SAP and ServiceNow underscores the industry-wide significance of this initiative. Such a coalition sends a strong signal to the marketplace: interoperability and openness are critical to the future of AI.
The Agent2Agent project represents not just a technological advance but a strategic realignment of competitive dynamics in AI. As the project matures, it could shape the next era of agent-driven computing, promoting a future where AI agents from multiple providers can effectively collaborate—much like humans do today—to solve complex problems, streamline business operations, and deliver unprecedented value.
In conclusion, the Linux Foundation’s announcement at the Open Source Summit North America signifies a pivotal moment for AI interoperability. With industry leaders united behind the Agent2Agent project, an open and collaborative approach to agent technology appears poised to accelerate innovation, drive efficiency, and create new opportunities across the tech ecosystem.
