[Jan26-CNCF-Madison] Lighting the 2026 Cloud Native Campfire

This session bridges the gap between 2025’s KubeCon highlights and the practical realities of the "Year of AI" in 2026. As we relaunch our Cloud Native Campfire series, we explore the infrastructure required for Agentic AI.

Featuring a deep dive with Diagrid, a Gold Member of the newly formed Agentic AI Foundation, we examine how to leverage Durable Execution and Dapr to build agents that are resilient, stateful, and production-ready.

Transcript

2. Cloud Native Madison Organizers Ryan Etten, RHCA Senior Specialist Architect, Red Hat Lead Organizer Cory Sherman AI Systems Architect, Claritev Co-Organizer Santanu Mojumder Cloud/AI Architect, Navitus Co-Organizer
3. Today’s Agenda CNCF & Community Group Intros Our Growth in Madison (2025 Recap) Cloud Native Campfire 2026 Kickoff The Agentic AI Foundation (AAIF) Diagrid: Reliable AI & Cloud Workflows Q&A
4. CNCF Code of Conduct We abide by the CNCF Code of Conduct, which ensures an inclusive and respectful environment. Please help us keep our community safe and welcoming. If you face or witness any uncomfortable conduct, reach out to local organizers or CNCF directly.
5. 230 Projects 275,000+ Contributors 759 Member Organizations A Part of The Linux Foundation Founded in 2015, the CNCF hosts critical components of the global technology infrastructure. CNCF brings together the world’s top developers, end users, and vendors and runs the largest open source developer conferences. Cloud Native Madison at KubeCon and CloudNativeCon North America 2025 Popular Projects Cloud Native Computing Foundation
6. Local Heart, Global Reach Connecting Madison’s builders with the global CNCF community and local industry leaders Navigating the Modern Stack Ongoing knowledge exchange covering the intersection of Cloud Native and the Open Source ecosystem driving the industry forward Open & Inclusive Growth A vendor-neutral space dedicated to democratizing state-of-the-art patterns for everyone in our community Who We Are: Cloud Native Madison
7. New Members Joined (Launched October 2024) Our Growth in Madison → over 400 members Events Hosted (4 Circles, 1 Connect) Diamond Sponsors for 2026 (Secured for the future!) 170+ 5 1 All powered by Cloud Native Campfire, our "Chat, Circle, Connect" program
8. Our Pillars for 2026: Chat, Circle, Connect Chat (Connect & Troubleshoot) Low-stakes “office hours” for quick technical Q&A and unscripted community conversations Circle (Deep Dive & Demo) ← WE ARE HERE! Spotlights on stand out tech and peer-led discussions to bridge the gap between hype and production Connect (Build & Network) In-person flagship events featuring hands-on workshops, hackathons, and high-energy networking
9. Joining Cloud Native Madison is Easy! linktr.ee/cloud.native.madison Join our Slack, find our new company page on LinkedIn, join our Cloud Native Community Group on CNCF, find our sponsor prospectus, & submit your ideas for talks to help grow this community
10. Joining the Circle: Cory Sherman AI Systems Architect and Cloud Native Madison Co-Organizer
11. The Agentic AI Foundation: Revolutionizing the Future of AI An introduction to the Agentic AI Foundation and its mission to advance agentic AI technology
12. Introduction to the Agentic AI Foundation Formation of the Agentic AI Foundation The Linux Foundation announced the formation of the Agentic AI Foundation to drive the development and adoption of agentic AI technology Collaborative Ecosystem The foundation brings together industry leaders, researchers, and developers to collaborate on advancing agentic AI capabilities Mission and Goals The Agentic AI Foundation aims to establish standards, frameworks, and best practices for agentic AI, enabling widespread adoption and innovation Fostering Innovation The foundation's initiatives focus on supporting research, developing open- source tools, and creating a community to drive the future of agentic AI
13. Challenges & Opportunities in Productionizing Agentic AI The AI Gateway Agent Identities AI Agents vs. Agentic AI Productionisation Roadblocks Opportunities and Potential Impact
14. The Future with the AAIF The Agentic AI Foundation is leading the charge in shaping the future of AI, bridging the gap between current systems and the boundless potential of agentic AI As they drive innovation and tackle the challenges of productionizing this groundbreaking technology, the possibilities for transformative advancements in the field are truly endless
15. Joining the Circle: Yaron Schneider Founder / CTO @ Diagrid, Co-Creator of Dapr and KEDA
16. Questions?
17. Thank You!