The Universal Standard for
Semantic Data

The Open Semantic Interchange is an industry-wide specification effort to standardize how we exchange semantic metadata across analytics, AI and BI platforms, providing a vendor neutral, single source of truth for semantic data.

100% Vendor Neutral
YAML Configuration
Apache 2.0 Open Source
AI Ready Semantic Context

Write Once, Query Anywhere.

Stop redefining "Revenue" in every dashboard. OSI uses a declarative YAML standard to define metrics, dimensions, and joins — so every tool and agent in your stack works from the same source of truth.

  • Consistent Definitions

    Ensure Marketing, Finance, and Sales all see the same numbers — no more metric drift.

  • AI-Ready Context

    Give LLMs the semantic context they need to answer business questions accurately.

  • No Lock-In

    Move your business logic between platforms freely. Your metrics belong to you.

sales_analytics.osi.yaml
semantic_model:
  - name: ecommerce_analytics
    description: Sales and customer analytics
    ai_context:
      instructions: "Use for sales analysis"

    datasets:
      - name: orders
        source: sales.public.orders
        primary_key: [order_id]
        fields:
          - name: order_date
            dimension:
              is_time: true

    metrics:
      - name: total_revenue
        expression:
          dialects:
            - dialect: ANSI_SQL
              expression: SUM(orders.amount)

About OSI

The Open Semantic Interchange (OSI) is a collaborative, open-source effort dedicated to standardizing and streamlining semantic model definitions across the data analytics, AI, and BI ecosystem.

Interoperability

Seamlessly exchange semantic models between AI agents, BI platforms, and analytics tools.

Consistency

Maintain consistent data definitions and values across every platform in your ecosystem.

Vendor-Agnostic

A common standard that works across all vendors, eliminating tool-specific inconsistencies and lock-in.

Efficiency

Reduce engineering debt and accelerate innovation by using a unified, governed semantic foundation.

The Challenge Semantic Fragmentation

  • ×
    Metric Drift Inconsistent KPIs across different dashboards.
  • ×
    Manual Translation Costly, error-prone reconciliation efforts.
  • ×
    Hallucinations Unreliable AI grounding from conflicting data logic.
  • ×
    Integration Debt Complex N-to-N custom integrations between proprietary tools.

The Solution A Unified Standard

  • Single Source of Truth Unified semantic and metric definitions.
  • Native Interoperability Direct exchange between platforms and AI agents.
  • Trusted AI Grounding Agents reasoning accurately based on business logic.
  • Reduced TCO Lower costs through automated model exchange.

Core Classes

The OSI specification defines these building blocks:

Semantic Model

Top-level container representing a complete model with datasets, relationships, and metrics.

Datasets

Logical business entities — fact and dimension tables with fields and structure.

Fields

Row-level attributes for grouping, filtering, and metric expressions.

Metrics

Aggregate calculations — sums, averages, ratios — spanning multiple datasets.

Dimensions

Categorical attributes: Where, When, Who.

Relationships

Foreign key constraints connecting datasets, supporting simple and composite keys.

Working Group Members

Leading organizations collaborating to build the future of semantic interchange

Alation
Anomalo
Atlan
AtScale
Bigeye
BlackRock
Blue Yonder
CARTO
Cloudera
Coalesce
Collate
Collibra
Cogniti
Count
Credible
Cube
Dataiku
Databricks
DataHub
Denodo
dbt Labs
Dremio
Domo
Elementum AI
Firebolt
GoodData
Hex
Honeydew
Informatica
Instacart
JetBrains
Lightdash
Metabase
Mistral AI
Omni
Oracle
Preset
Qlik
RelationalAI
Salesforce
Select Star
Sigma
Snowflake
Starburst Data
Strategy
Sundial
ThoughtSpot
Zeta Global

Working Groups

The initiative is organized into focused groups, each tackling a specific area of the specification.

Advanced Metrics & Expression Language

Complex metric calculations and a portable expression syntax

Composability

Enabling semantic models to reference and extend one another

Catalog Integration

Bridging OSI models with data catalog and governance platforms

Ontology Representation

Mapping OSI concepts to formal ontology standards

Model Converters & Developer Tools

Tooling for importing, exporting, and validating OSI models

Latest Updates

News and announcements from the OSI community

April 28, 2026

OSI Community Update: What's New and What's Next

The OSI specification is live, working groups are taking shape, and 14 new participants have joined the initiative.

March 24, 2026

Denodo Joins Snowflake to Advance Open Semantic Interchange

Denodo joins Snowflake and industry leaders to advance data and AI interoperability through the Open Semantic Interchange.

February 10, 2026

Databao Becomes a Partner of the Open Semantic Interchange Initiative

JetBrains' Databao becomes a partner of the OSI initiative, contributing its open-source context engine and data agent to the ecosystem.

February 3, 2026

Collate Joins Snowflake Industry Leaders to Advance Open Semantics

Collate joins Snowflake and industry leaders to advance OSI, ensuring semantic definitions are applied consistently across the full data lifecycle.

January 27, 2026

AtScale Joins OSI to Advance Open Semantics

AtScale joins OSI to advance open semantics, bringing over a decade of enterprise-scale semantic layer experience to the initiative.

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