Open-source MCP protocol provides a universal, open standard for connecting AI systems to data sources, Anthropic says.

Anthropic today released a new open source protocol to let all AI systems, not just its own, connect with data sources via a standard interface.

Model Context Protocol (MCP), the company said in its announcement, lets developers build secure two-way connections between AI-powered tools and the data sources they require to do their jobs via a client-server architecture.

"As AI assistants gain mainstream adoption, the industry has invested heavily in model capabilities, achieving rapid advances in reasoning and quality. Yet even the most sophisticated models are constrained by their isolation from data -- trapped behind information silos and legacy systems. Every new data source requires its own custom implementation, making truly connected systems difficult to scale," Anthropic said. "MCP addresses this challenge. It provides a universal, open standard for connecting AI systems with data sources, replacing fragmented integrations with a single protocol. The result is a simpler, more reliable way to give AI systems access to the data they need."