NVIDIA Launches Open Agent Safety Platform with OpenShell and Sentry

NVIDIA has announced the NVIDIA Open Agent Safety Platform, an open software platform and reference system design designed to strengthen AI security from agent testing to deployment. The platform introduces a full-stack governance model that spans software, hardware, computing, and robotics, aiming to align on evaluation methods and foster international cooperation for safer AI agent deployment.

Core Components

The platform consists of two primary elements:

• NVIDIA OpenShell: An open-source software component that provides a secure runtime boundary. When agents run on NVIDIA Vera CPU, OpenShell traces all actions and enforces policy. It is designed to be extensible, supporting third-party computing platforms such as Arm and Intel.
• NVIDIA Sentry: A reference system design featuring an out-of-band watchdog running on the NVIDIA BlueField-4 DPU. Sentry continuously monitors agent behavior and can quarantine agents in milliseconds if they attempt to move outside their software boundaries. It operates invisibly to both agents and attackers, enforcing security and auditing independently via the DPU's silicon.

Industry Adoption

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang emphasized that safety is critical to unlocking AI's potential, requiring full-stack engineering. The platform has already secured partnerships with major industry players:

• Anthropic: Integrating OpenShell and BlueField with Claude Managed Agents to separate agent loops from sandbox execution servers.
• SpaceXAI: Using the platform for Cursor coding agents and Grok models to enforce controls outside the model.
• Salesforce: Integrating OpenShell with Slack to allow teams to view agent activities and approve or deny permissions.
• SAP: Embedding OpenShell in Joule Studio runtime to advance interoperability standards via the Open Secure AI Alliance.
• Robotics: Companies like Figure, Gecko Robotics, and Skild AI are using OpenShell to embed safety controls in autonomous systems.
• Infrastructure & OS: Canonical, Red Hat, and others are integrating the platform into operating systems, with Red Hat running OpenShell and DOCA in its AI Factory.

Availability and Ecosystem

NVIDIA OpenShell and related skills are available on the NVIDIA developer resources page and GitHub. The initiative supports the Open Secure AI Alliance, a Linux Foundation-governed group of over 120 organizations, including projects like the Shared AI Findings Exchange (SAFE). NVIDIA notes that some features are subject to change as they are part of forward-looking plans.