The Linux Foundation has launched the x402 Foundation, a new industry body that will oversee the x402 payment protocol, an open standard designed to let AI agents, applications, and APIs pay for digital services over HTTP.
The x402 protocol, originally developed by Coinbase, embeds payment capabilities directly into web interactions, allowing AI agents, APIs, and applications to send and receive payments as part of standard HTTP requests rather than through separate checkout or billing systems, according to the Linux Foundation. The protocol supports multiple payment types, from traditional cards to stablecoins.
“Under the neutral governance of the Linux Foundation, the x402 Foundation will allow developers, financial institutions, cloud providers, and other community members to collaboratively shape the protocol’s development,” the Linux Foundation said in a statement. “This open structure ensures that payments remain highly secure and adaptable, supporting multiple payment types, from traditional cards to stablecoins, without vendor lock-in.”
Forty organizations have joined the x402 Foundation since the Linux Foundation announced plans for the project in April, the statement added.
Members include Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google, Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, American Express, Cloudflare, Coinbase, Fiserv, Ripple, and Shopify, representing cloud providers, payment companies, and financial services firms.
Foundation targets a gap in agent-to-agent commerce
The announcement comes as software vendors add AI agents to business applications and developer platforms. Many of these agents are designed to call APIs, access third-party services, and complete tasks on behalf of users, creating demand for ways to pay for digital services without relying on separate payment systems.
Jim Zemlin, CEO of the Linux Foundation, said AI agents and automated systems are becoming active participants in the global economy but have lacked a native, secure way to transact.
“By bringing together leading companies across finance, technology and more, we’re ensuring that the payment layer of the internet remains neutral, highly interoperable and ready to support digital commerce,” he said in the statement.
The protocol addresses what several founding members described as a structural gap in how the web handles machine-initiated transactions.
How the protocol works
The x402 protocol is based on the HTTP 402 “Payment Required” status code, which was originally defined for internet payments but has seen limited use.
The protocol is intended for transactions involving paid APIs, AI services, cloud computing resources, digital content, and other online services that require payment. The Linux Foundation said it also supports machine-to-machine payments between software applications and can work with multiple payment methods, including traditional payment cards and stablecoins.
Today, developers typically monetize APIs and online services through subscriptions, prepaid credits, API keys, or account-based billing systems. The Linux Foundation said x402 is designed to standardize payment directly within HTTP interactions, allowing applications and AI agents to complete transactions without separate payment flows or custom billing integrations.
Governance structure spans payments, cloud and blockchain sectors
Under the Linux Foundation’s neutral governance model, the x402 Foundation will let developers, financial institutions, cloud providers, and other members collaboratively shape the protocol’s development.
“This open structure ensures that payments remain highly secure and adaptable, supporting multiple payment types, from traditional cards to stablecoins, without vendor lock-in,” the statement added.
Technology vendors have introduced AI agents that can search for information, generate code, analyze documents, and interact with external applications. Many of those systems also rely on APIs and cloud-based services to complete tasks.
According to the Linux Foundation, x402 is designed to provide a standard way for those applications and agents to pay for services during a transaction rather than relying on separate purchasing or billing processes. The foundation said developers can integrate payment capabilities into applications using open web standards across different payment providers and software platforms.
Growing ecosystem
The launch comes as technology vendors begin adding payment capabilities to AI agent platforms.
In May, AWS introduced Amazon Bedrock AgentCore Payments in preview, enabling AI agents to autonomously pay for APIs, Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, web content, and other agents. AWS had then said the service uses the x402 protocol to negotiate HTTP 402 payment requests while handling wallet authentication, spending controls, and transaction logging.
The Linux Foundation said the x402 Foundation will serve as the neutral home for the protocol as organizations contribute technical specifications, implementation guidance, and future extensions. The Linux Foundation and Coinbase did not respond to requests for additional comment by publication time.
The article originally appeared on InfoWorld.
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