Market Research
Last Updated: February 2026
1. Market Definition
Section titled “1. Market Definition”The “Agent Skills Economy” encompasses the ecosystem of modular capabilities (skills, tools, MCP servers) that extend AI agents’ functionality. This includes:
- Skills — SKILL.md-based instruction files that teach agents how to perform tasks
- MCP Servers — Model Context Protocol integrations that connect agents to external services
- Agent Tools — Broader category of extensions, plugins, and integrations for AI agents
2. Market Size & Growth
Section titled “2. Market Size & Growth”2.1 AI Agents Market (Overall)
Section titled “2.1 AI Agents Market (Overall)”| Metric | 2025 | 2030 | 2033 | CAGR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Global AI Agents Market | $7.8B | $52.6B | $183B | 46-50% |
| Developer Tools Segment | — | — | — | 52.4% CAGR |
| Agentic Commerce | — | $3-5T | — | — |
Sources: MarketsandMarkets, Grand View Research, McKinsey
2.2 Agent Skills Ecosystem (Specific)
Section titled “2.2 Agent Skills Ecosystem (Specific)”| Platform | Skills Count | Daily Installs | Growth Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| SkillsMP | 270,000+ | Unknown | Explosive (0 to 270K in ~2 months) |
| ClawHub | 5,700+ | 15,000+ | Rapid |
| MCP.so | 17,000+ | Unknown | Steady |
| Smithery | 2,500+ | Unknown | Moderate |
| Composio | 500+ integrations | Unknown | Enterprise-focused |
Total addressable skills created: 370,000+ as of Feb 2026
2.3 Comparable Market Analogies
Section titled “2.3 Comparable Market Analogies”| Analogy | Stage | Peak Size | Lesson |
|---|---|---|---|
| iOS App Store (2009) | 50K apps, no clear winners | $85B/yr (2024) | First-mover marketplace won; trust/curation was key |
| npm Registry (2014) | Fragmented JS packages | 2.1M packages, core infra | Open-source registry became essential infra |
| Shopify App Store (2012) | Early e-commerce plugins | $500M+ developer revenue | Verticalized marketplace model works |
| Chrome Web Store (2010) | Browser extensions boom | 200K+ extensions | Security/trust became the differentiator |
3. Key Market Dynamics
Section titled “3. Key Market Dynamics”3.1 The SKILL.md Standard Explosion
Section titled “3.1 The SKILL.md Standard Explosion”Timeline:
- Dec 18, 2025 — Anthropic releases Agent Skills as an open standard with SKILL.md specification
- Dec 2025 — OpenAI adopts the same format for Codex CLI
- Jan 2026 — Google adopts for Gemini CLI; GitHub Copilot, Cursor, VS Code follow
- Feb 2026 — 26+ platforms support SKILL.md
- Feb 14, 2026 — OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger joins OpenAI
Significance: SKILL.md becoming a cross-platform standard is the equivalent of HTML becoming the web standard. It means skills are portable — write once, run on any agent platform. This creates a massive opportunity for a cross-platform marketplace.
3.2 The OpenClaw Phenomenon
Section titled “3.2 The OpenClaw Phenomenon”| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GitHub Stars | 220,000+ |
| Skills Registry (ClawHub) | 5,700+ skills |
| Active Deployments | Hundreds of thousands |
| Messaging Platforms | WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Discord, Slack, Teams, etc. |
| Creator Status | Peter Steinberger joined OpenAI (Feb 2026) |
Why it matters: OpenClaw proved that personal AI agents are not theoretical — hundreds of thousands of people are running persistent AI agents daily. These agents need skills to be useful. The demand is real and growing.
3.3 The Security Crisis
Section titled “3.3 The Security Crisis”VirusTotal’s February 2026 analysis of the ClawHub registry revealed:
- 7.1% of skills leak API keys (hardcoded credentials in source code)
- Hundreds of actively malicious skills detected (droppers, backdoors, infostealers, RATs)
- Supply chain attacks disguised as helpful automation tools
ClawHub responded by integrating VirusTotal scanning, but the broader ecosystem (SkillsMP, GitHub-hosted skills) remains largely unvetted.
Significance: This is both a crisis and an opportunity. Whoever solves trust and security for the agent skills ecosystem captures the enterprise market.
3.4 Enterprise Adoption Trajectory
Section titled “3.4 Enterprise Adoption Trajectory”- IDC: AI copilots to be embedded in 80% of enterprise workplace apps by 2026
- McKinsey: AI agents could unlock $2.9T in productivity gains by 2030
- VentureBeat: Enterprise adoption of OpenClaw-style agents is accelerating, but security is the rate-limiter
- Gartner: By 2028, 33% of enterprise software interactions will be through agent interfaces
Enterprise pain points:
- No way to vet skills for security and compliance
- No private skill registries for internal use
- No audit trail for which skills agents used and why
- No procurement/licensing workflow for paid skills
- No policy engine to control which skills agents can access
4. User Segments
Section titled “4. User Segments”4.1 Skill Developers
Section titled “4.1 Skill Developers”| Sub-segment | Size Estimate | Needs |
|---|---|---|
| Individual developers | 100K+ (growing) | Discovery, monetization, analytics |
| SaaS companies | 10K+ | Distribution, integration, lead gen |
| Agencies/consultants | 5K+ | White-label, client management |
| Enterprise dev teams | 50K+ | Private registries, security, compliance |
4.2 Skill Consumers
Section titled “4.2 Skill Consumers”| Sub-segment | Size Estimate | Needs |
|---|---|---|
| Individual agent users | 1M+ (OpenClaw alone) | Discovery, trust, easy installation |
| Developer teams | 500K+ | Curated collections, compatibility |
| Enterprises | 100K+ | Security, compliance, audit, policy |
| SaaS vendors | 50K+ | Agent-readiness, skill distribution |
4.3 Platforms
Section titled “4.3 Platforms”| Sub-segment | Count | Needs |
|---|---|---|
| Agent platforms (Claude, Codex, etc.) | 26+ | Ecosystem growth, quality control |
| IDE/editor vendors | 10+ | Skill integration, marketplace |
| Enterprise software vendors | 1000s | Agent-enablement, MCP integration |
5. Market Trends
Section titled “5. Market Trends”5.1 Trends Favoring the Opportunity
Section titled “5.1 Trends Favoring the Opportunity”- Cross-platform standardization — SKILL.md works everywhere, creating portability
- Agent-first interfaces — Shift from GUI to agent-mediated interaction
- Agentic commerce — AI agents making purchase decisions ($3-5T by 2030)
- Security urgency — Malicious skills crisis demanding trusted curation
- Enterprise pull — Companies want agents but need governance
- Creator economy for agents — Developers want to monetize their skills
5.2 Trends That Could Limit Growth
Section titled “5.2 Trends That Could Limit Growth”- Platform integration — Anthropic/OpenAI could build their own marketplaces
- Open-source culture — Resistance to paid skills in developer community
- Fragmentation risk — SKILL.md could fork or be superseded
- Regulatory uncertainty — No clear framework for agent liability
- LLM capability growth — As models improve, fewer skills may be needed
6. Key Data Sources
Section titled “6. Key Data Sources”| Source | URL | Key Data |
|---|---|---|
| MarketsandMarkets | marketsandmarkets.com | AI Agents market $52.6B by 2030 |
| McKinsey | mckinsey.com | Agentic commerce $3-5T by 2030 |
| VirusTotal Blog | blog.virustotal.com | 7.1% skills leak API keys |
| VentureBeat | venturebeat.com | OpenClaw enterprise adoption analysis |
| Anthropic Skills Repo | github.com/anthropics/skills | SKILL.md specification |
| ClawHub | clawhub.ai | 5,700+ skills registry |
| SkillsMP | skillsmp.com | 270,000+ skills aggregator |
| IDC | idc.com | 80% enterprise apps with AI copilots by 2026 |
| Simon Willison | simonwillison.net | OpenAI skills adoption analysis |