HOL launches partner program for AI agent infrastructure

By AI, Created 10:49 AM UTC, May 20, 2026, /AGP/ – HOL launched a selective partner program on May 4, 2026, to bring together companies building the infrastructure behind AI agents, including identity, payments, privacy, communication and open standards. The initiative starts with more than 25 partners and is meant to help coordinate the emerging agent economy around interoperable, safer systems.

Why it matters: - AI agents need shared infrastructure to discover services, verify trust, communicate across systems and transact safely. - HOL’s partner program is designed to make that ecosystem easier to coordinate as more companies build for agentic computing. - The program could speed development of open, interoperable standards in a market where security and privacy are central concerns.

What happened: - HOL announced the launch of the HOL Partner Program on May 4, 2026. - The selective initiative brings together companies building infrastructure, protocols, developer tools and applications for AI agents and agentic computing. - The founding cohort includes more than 25 partners, including XMTP, GoDaddy and DSR. - HOL said interested companies can learn more at partner program information.

The details: - The founding cohort spans agent registries, identity, payments, privacy, security, communication, developer tooling and open standards. - Participants get access to personalized networking and introductions, educational programming on AI trends and tools, marketing support and a directory for finding AI partners. - The program also gives partners a voice in shared industry standards and access to working groups and subcommittees. - Those working groups can produce open standards, research papers, tooling and other practical outputs. - HOL said the partner portal will include private coordination, shared content and standards collaboration. - The company’s ecosystem already includes 20+ published standards, production infrastructure and a global community of developers and organizations.

Between the lines: - The launch reflects a push to organize the early infrastructure layer around AI agents before the market fragments into incompatible systems. - HOL is positioning itself as a coordination hub, not just a standards shop, by combining networking, education and technical working groups. - Michael Kantor, president of HOL, said the program is meant to bring builders together early so the agent future develops with stronger security and privacy foundations.

What’s next: - The founding cohort will focus on four initial subcommittees: Agent Registries, Agentic Payments, AI Privacy & Security, and Inter-Agent Communication & Coordination. - Each subcommittee is expected to produce specifications, reference implementations, technical feedback and contributions to other open standards. - HOL said future cohorts will accept companies building infrastructure for AI agents and interested in joining working groups and subcommittees.

The bottom line: - HOL is trying to shape the plumbing of the AI agent economy now, while standards, trust frameworks and interoperability are still being built.