Google Cloud is transferring its Agent2Agent (A2A) protocol to the Linux Foundation. The foundation has now announced a new community-led project called the Agent2Agent Project.
This was reported by BleepingComputer. Google Cloud originally developed A2A as a protocol specification, SDK, and tooling set that enabled communication between AI agents. The protocol enables AI agents from different vendors to discover one another, share information and context, and collaborate securely on complex tasks.
AI agents are AI-driven tools, including chatbots, programming tools, and autonomous systems. As the AI ecosystem continues to grow rapidly and more agents from various parties emerge, interoperability and automated collaboration across services are becoming increasingly crucial.
That’s why Google developed A2A. Other major technology companies quickly joined, including AWS, Microsoft, Salesforce, Cisco, SAP, and ServiceNow. All of these parties are active in the growth of agentic AI within the business world.
To prevent the landscape from becoming fragmented by competing protocols from different parties, Google Cloud chose to transfer A2A to the Linux Foundation. This increases the likelihood of broad acceptance and trust.
Ensuring independence
According to Google, the establishment of the Agent2Agent project under the neutral management of the Linux Foundation ensures that the protocol will remain independent of vendors and will be developed in collaboration with the community.
The move should accelerate the adoption and further development of A2A. This is thanks to a solid foundation for open collaboration, intellectual property management, and sustainable maintenance.
A2A is now officially part of the Linux Foundation, with its own GitHub and community. Google’s original specifications, SDKs, and tools have been transferred to the foundation.
The announcement was made during the Open Source Summit North America, where the Linux Foundation issued its first call for developers, researchers, and companies to contribute to the A2A project.
More than 100 companies currently support A2A. The Linux Foundation will coordinate their contributions and testing efforts and align implementations where necessary.
The Linux Foundation says it will focus on practical use, with an emphasis on security, extensibility, and usability in business. This makes A2A suitable for large-scale AI applications across different platforms.
According to the Linux Foundation, A2A will remain vendor-independent under their management, with room for inclusive contributions and a continued focus on extensibility, security, and practical deployability.