Accelerating Open Source AI at Block: Introducing the goose grant program

Today, we’re excited to announce the Goose Grant Program—a new initiative to support developers, researchers, and organizations building with goose, our open source AI agent framework.

Why We’re Launching This Program

Since releasing goose in January 2025, we’ve been amazed by the community response. Thousands of developers are using goose to build AI-powered tools, and we’ve seen integrations with major platforms like Databricks.

But we know that building great open source software requires resources—time, infrastructure, and sometimes funding. The Goose Grant Program is designed to provide that support to projects that advance the goose ecosystem and open source AI more broadly.

What We’re Funding

The program will provide grants ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 for projects in several categories:

Integrations and Extensions

We’re looking for projects that extend goose’s capabilities or integrate it with other tools and platforms. This could include:

• New toolkit integrations for specific domains (data science, DevOps, content creation, etc.)
• Connectors to popular development tools and platforms
• Extensions that add new capabilities to goose

Tooling and Infrastructure

Projects that make goose easier to use, deploy, or manage:

• Development tools for building goose extensions
• Deployment and orchestration solutions
• Monitoring and observability tools
• Testing and quality assurance frameworks

Research and Innovation

Experimental projects that push the boundaries of what’s possible with agentic AI:

• Novel approaches to agent reasoning and planning
• Research into AI safety and alignment for agents
• Studies on human-AI collaboration patterns
• Explorations of multi-agent systems

Education and Documentation

Resources that help others learn about and use goose:

• Tutorials and learning materials
• Example projects and templates
• Documentation improvements
• Video courses and workshops

What We’re Looking For

Successful grant applications will demonstrate:

1. Clear value to the goose ecosystem - How does your project benefit goose users or contributors?

2. Technical feasibility - Do you have the skills and resources to execute on your proposal?

3. Open source commitment - Will your project be released under an open source license?

4. Community engagement - How will you involve and support the goose community?

5. Sustainability - What’s your plan for maintaining the project after the grant period?

Grant Amounts and Terms

• Small grants: $10,000 - $25,000 for focused projects (3-6 months)
• Medium grants: $25,000 - $50,000 for substantial projects (6-12 months)
• Large grants: $50,000 - $100,000 for ambitious, high-impact projects (12+ months)

All grant recipients will:

• Retain full ownership of their work
• Be required to release their projects under OSI-approved open source licenses
• Receive support from the Block Open Source team
• Have opportunities to present their work to the community

How to Apply

Applications are now open at block.xyz/goose-grants.

The application process includes:

1. Initial proposal - A brief description of your project (1-2 pages)
2. Technical review - Evaluation by the goose core team
3. Interview - Discussion with Block’s Open Source team
4. Decision - We aim to respond within 4-6 weeks

We’ll be accepting applications on a rolling basis, with quarterly review cycles.

Beyond Funding

Grant recipients will also receive:

• Technical mentorship from goose core contributors
• Community visibility through blog posts, conference talks, and social media
• Early access to new goose features and roadmap discussions
• Networking opportunities with other grant recipients and the broader AI community

Our Commitment to Open Source AI

The Goose Grant Program is part of Block’s broader commitment to open source AI development. We believe that powerful AI tools should be accessible to everyone, not locked behind proprietary walls.

By supporting the goose ecosystem, we’re investing in a future where AI agents are:

• Open and transparent - Anyone can inspect, modify, and improve them
• Interoperable - They work with diverse tools and platforms
• Community-driven - Development is guided by user needs, not corporate interests
• Accessible - Available to individuals and organizations of all sizes

Join Us

Whether you’re a solo developer with an idea, a research team exploring new frontiers, or an organization building tools for your community, we want to hear from you.

Visit block.xyz/goose-grants to learn more and apply.

Together, we can build the future of open source AI.

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Questions about the program? Join our Discord community or email us at goose-grants@block.xyz