NVIDIA Adopts OpenMDW Standard to Simplify Licensing for Open Models

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NVIDIA is adopting the Linux Foundation's OpenMDW-1.1 framework across its major open model families, including Cosmos and Nemotron. This shift replaces custom legal terms with a permissive, industry-standard license designed specifically for AI weights, code, and data.

NVIDIA is moving its primary open model families to the OpenMDW-1.1 license, a permissive framework from the Linux Foundation. This standard covers AI artifacts—including model weights, source code, and data. The transition applies to the Cosmos world models, Isaac GR00T robotics, Ising quantum computing, and the Nemotron LLM series.
License
OpenMDW-1.1
Governing body
Linux Foundation
Covered artifacts
Weights, code, data, and more
Affected families
Cosmos, Isaac GR00T, Ising, and more

This move addresses legal friction caused by fragmented AI licensing, where models often use software licenses ill-suited for weights. By adopting a neutral standard, NVIDIA provides a clearer path for commercialization, extending the strategy behind the NVIDIA Nemotron Coalition and updating terms for the Nemotron-Labs-Diffusion family.

For developers, this shift grants explicit rights to train, modify, and deploy these models at scale. The OpenMDW-1.1 framework is now publicly available for any provider to adopt. Future releases of Cosmos, Isaac GR00T, and Nemotron will ship under these unified terms, simplifying the legal due diligence required for production.

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We're adopting the Linux Foundation’s OpenMDW framework across our open model families. This helps make open model licensing simpler and more consistent at scale. A single legal framework across models, code, documentation, and data helps reduce friction for developers and enterprises building with open source.

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Still wondering? A few quick answers below.

OpenMDW is a permissive legal framework created by the Linux Foundation and PyTorch Foundation specifically for AI models. Unlike traditional software licenses, it provides a unified standard that covers all components of an AI distribution, including the model architecture, weights, parameters, source code, documentation, and the underlying training data.

NVIDIA is adopting the OpenMDW-1.1 license across its major open model families. This includes the Cosmos world foundation models, the Isaac GR00T robotics platform, the Ising quantum computing models, and the Nemotron family of large language models. Future releases within these specific families will utilize this standardized legal framework.

OpenMDW is a permissive, open license designed to enable the responsible sharing of AI materials. It gives developers and organizations the explicit rights to train, modify, contribute to, redistribute, and deploy models. It was created to provide a consistent alternative to restrictive custom licenses or software licenses not designed for AI.

NVIDIA is adopting the standard to reduce legal friction and provide more consistency for developers and enterprises. By moving away from fragmented or custom legal frameworks, the company aims to give organizations greater confidence to build and deploy AI systems. This shift helps establish a clear, industry-wide standard for sharing AI models at scale.

While NVIDIA is a major early adopter for its Cosmos and Nemotron families, the OpenMDW-1.1 license is publicly available for any AI model provider or developer worldwide. It is hosted by the Linux Foundation as a neutral, model-centric framework intended to accelerate the growth of an interoperable and open AI ecosystem.

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