Tool Calling 2.0: How MCP Is Standardizing AI Connections

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is changing how developers connect AI applications to external tools – but what exactly is it, and why should you care? In this episode, Yuval speaks with Etan Grundstein, Technical Product Manager (and formerly Director of Engineering) at AI21, to break down the protocol that’s standardizing AI integrations, moving beyond basic weather APIs and calculators to real-world productivity workflows. Key Topics: 1) What MCP actually is and how it differs from traditional tool calling 2) Real-world examples: Connecting AI to Jira, Notion, Git, and even Blender 3) The evolution from local MCP servers to cloud integrations 4) Authentication challenges and how they’re being addressed 5) Why developers are building MCP servers to build other MCP servers 6) Looking ahead: Agent-to-Agent protocols and what comes next