Governance · § 12.1
From founding sponsor to multi-stakeholder body.
axlspec.org begins as a Cadence-controlled entity and transitions to a multi-stakeholder governance body. The roadmap below sets out the trigger conditions and the structural model.
- Authority
- § 12.1 of the AXL Reference
- Current phase
- Phase 0 — founding stewardship
- Target model
- 501(c)(6) or equivalent multi-stakeholder body
§ 1Why this matters
A specification governed by one vendor is not credible as a specification; it is a marketing artifact. The AXL Reference is published by Cadence as founding sponsor with the explicit, written intent of moving stewardship to a multi-stakeholder body. The roadmap below is the public commitment to that path.
§ 2Phases
| Phase | Structure | Trigger to next |
|---|---|---|
| 0 — Founding stewardship | axlspec.org operated by Cadence. Editorial board appointed by Cadence; working-group chairs invited from the community. | v1.0 Final published; ≥ 3 verified L3 certifications issued. |
| 1 — Mixed governance | Editorial board reconstituted with Cadence holding ≤ 50% of voting seats. Independent chair seated. | ≥ 10 verified L3 certifications across ≥ 5 distinct legal-entity vendors. |
| 2 — Multi-stakeholder body | axlspec.org operating under 501(c)(6) or equivalent. Cadence holds the same voting seat as any other certified vendor. | Steady state. Reviewed annually. |
§ 3What stays consistent across phases
- The specification is published under CC BY 4.0 from v1.0 onward.
- The AXL™ certification mark is owned by axlspec.org, never by Cadence.
- Conformance review is symmetric: Cadence applies for and is evaluated under the same process as any other vendor.
- Working-group meetings are public-record from day one.
- Reviewer reports are published at
axlspec.org/certified/[vendor].
Open question: the optimal multi-stakeholder model — 501(c)(6) trade association, Linux Foundation project, OASIS member, independent foundation — depends on the geographic distribution of certified vendors and on community preference. The choice will be settled at the Phase 1 → Phase 2 transition with input from the working groups.