Accelerating Open Source AI at Block: Introducing the goose grant program
We believe the impact of open source AI agents will rival that of the Internet during its formative years in the 1990s and early 2000s.
goose is an open source agent developed by Block engineers that runs locally, lets you use any model you choose with configurable tools, and is designed with extensibility in mind to automate complex tasks. We want to foster a thriving ecosystem around goose - one that promotes user choice, resists vendor lock-in, and democratizes access to powerful agentic technologies.
goose was created to make AI accessible to everyone and in just six months since publicly launching, it has:
- Grown to thousands of community members and dozens of code contributors from outside of Block.
- Been adopted by companies like Databricks, startups, and university labs.
- Shown that open source AI tooling can match (and often out-pace) proprietary tools.
Now, Block is doubling down on our commitment to transparent, community-driven AI. Today we are unveiling the goose grant program: an initiative that funds external innovators building on goose, Block’s open source agent platform.
Through this program, we are funding bold, creative work that expands the boundaries of what’s possible with Agentic AI via goose. Whether you’re prototyping tools, creating infrastructure, or exploring new paradigms of how we interact with AI, we want to support your work.
If you believe in a future where agentic AI is open and accessible to all, we invite you to apply for a grant and help us build it.
Why this matters for Block and everyone we serve
1. Keeping Innovation Open
goose already saves Block teams 50-75% of development time and 60% of our workforce is using it weekly. By opening the door to a global pool of researchers and developers, we amplify those gains for all at very low cost; improvements are accessible by Block and every company building on and with goose.
2. Building Trust Through Transparency
Individuals and businesses increasingly expect the AI tools they rely on to be transparent, open, and accountable. goose is publicly available to all under the permissive Apache 2.0 license, which lets anyone inspect the code, run it locally, and understand how decisions are made. By funding independent contributors, we deepen that transparency and keep the project accountable to its users.
3. Growing a Healthy Ecosystem
goose uses the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to connect to apps like Snowflake, Databricks, Slack, and Google Drive. MCP is an emerging integration standard that defines how AI systems interact with modern data sources. The grant program is designed to cultivate a healthy, open ecosystem by supporting new MCP integrations, security audits, and developer tooling. This broad ecosystem growth benefits everyone, and is especially important to us as we explore agentic capabilities within products like Cash App and Square.
4. Targeted Investment
Through a focused and efficient allocation of resources, we unlock a pipeline of cutting-edge features built externally, early visibility into research that could shape goose’s long-term roadmap, and a growing, engaged community of contributors and users from around the world
Program at a glance
Grant size: Up to $100,000 each (12-month)
Cohorts: Reviewed on a rolling basis
Eligible applicants: Individuals and/or small teams, as long as the work is not already funded by an employer or client
Structure: Grants are milestone-based, and may have periodic check-ins, deliverables, reviews, and payments (subject to applicable law)
Looking ahead
The goose grant program is the first of several steps to formalize goose’s transition to more open and neutral governance. By investing early in ecosystem health, Block helps lay the groundwork for the next wave of autonomous software development, creating tools and infrastructure that empower developers and advance the broader tech landscape.
We believe the impact of open source AI agents will rival that of the Internet during its formative years in the 1990s and early 2000s.
goose is an open source agent developed by Block engineers that runs locally, lets you use any model you choose with configurable tools, and is designed with extensibility in mind to automate complex tasks. We want to foster a thriving ecosystem around goose - one that promotes user choice, resists vendor lock-in, and democratizes access to powerful agentic technologies.
goose was created to make AI accessible to everyone and in just six months since publicly launching, it has:
- Grown to thousands of community members and dozens of code contributors from outside of Block.
- Been adopted by companies like Databricks, startups, and university labs.
- Shown that open source AI tooling can match (and often out-pace) proprietary tools.
Now, Block is doubling down on our commitment to transparent, community-driven AI. Today we are unveiling the goose grant program: an initiative that funds external innovators building on goose, Block’s open source agent platform.
Through this program, we are funding bold, creative work that expands the boundaries of what’s possible with Agentic AI via goose. Whether you’re prototyping tools, creating infrastructure, or exploring new paradigms of how we interact with AI, we want to support your work.
If you believe in a future where agentic AI is open and accessible to all, we invite you to apply for a grant and help us build it.
Why this matters for Block and everyone we serve
1. Keeping Innovation Open
goose already saves Block teams 50-75% of development time and 60% of our workforce is using it weekly. By opening the door to a global pool of researchers and developers, we amplify those gains for all at very low cost; improvements are accessible by Block and every company building on and with goose.
2. Building Trust Through Transparency
Individuals and businesses increasingly expect the AI tools they rely on to be transparent, open, and accountable. goose is publicly available to all under the permissive Apache 2.0 license, which lets anyone inspect the code, run it locally, and understand how decisions are made. By funding independent contributors, we deepen that transparency and keep the project accountable to its users.
3. Growing a Healthy Ecosystem
goose uses the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to connect to apps like Snowflake, Databricks, Slack, and Google Drive. MCP is an emerging integration standard that defines how AI systems interact with modern data sources. The grant program is designed to cultivate a healthy, open ecosystem by supporting new MCP integrations, security audits, and developer tooling. This broad ecosystem growth benefits everyone, and is especially important to us as we explore agentic capabilities within products like Cash App and Square.
4. Targeted Investment
Through a focused and efficient allocation of resources, we unlock a pipeline of cutting-edge features built externally, early visibility into research that could shape goose’s long-term roadmap, and a growing, engaged community of contributors and users from around the world
Program at a glance
Grant size: Up to $100,000 each (12-month)
Cohorts: Reviewed on a rolling basis
Eligible applicants: Individuals and/or small teams, as long as the work is not already funded by an employer or client
Structure: Grants are milestone-based, and may have periodic check-ins, deliverables, reviews, and payments (subject to applicable law)
Looking ahead
The goose grant program is the first of several steps to formalize goose’s transition to more open and neutral governance. By investing early in ecosystem health, Block helps lay the groundwork for the next wave of autonomous software development, creating tools and infrastructure that empower developers and advance the broader tech landscape.