Selection work does not require doomscrolling, but it does deserve a yearly recalibration. These are the four events we picked from the past year — each one changed the default choice in its niche. Links go to the original sources; the opinions are ours.
1. Coze went open source: the heaviest piece of the self-host puzzle
In July 2025, ByteDance open-sourced its agent platform as Coze Studio with official Docker deployment. Before that, "the Coze experience with data kept in-house" had no answer. The open edition differs in scope from the cloud, but it turned a dead end for ByteDance-stack enterprises into a real choice.
- coze-dev/coze-studio（GitHub） — The official repository; deployment and feature scope are authoritative here
2. Tencent WorkBuddy: the office digital-employee race begins
In December 2025, Tencent's ima team shipped WorkBuddy, swapping "answering questions" for "completing tasks": decompose, call tools, deliver reports. The big-vendor narrative officially moved from chat assistant to digital employee. For selection work, office-scenario comparisons now need a "task delivery" axis, not just chat quality.
- 腾讯 ima 上线 WorkBuddy（量子位） — Launch coverage; product positioning and capabilities in the original piece
3. Zhipu Qingliu open-sourced: enterprise self-hosting for the GLM stack
In late April 2026, Zhipu open-sourced Qingliu, an enterprise agent platform deeply integrated with GLM and complete in MCP support. It changes not the market but the default for GLM users: self-hosting no longer means generic platforms like Dify — there is now a native-stack option. The risk is equally clear: a young community means you carry your own problems.
- 智谱开源「清流」智能体平台（IT之家） — Announcement coverage
4. Inference clouds court developers: SiliconFlow's million-dollar pool
Inference-cloud competition has moved from pricing to ecosystem: SiliconFlow runs a referral program with a $1M pool — credits for invitees, a revenue share for inviters. Practical implication: when picking a platform for your team, treat such incentives as part of the cost structure. One reminder: always get written consent before joining any referral program.
- SiliconFlow Referral Program（官网） — Official page is authoritative for terms
The throughline: self-hosting plus office scenarios
Read together, the four events draw one line: platform competition is shifting from "who can build agents" to "where data lives and who executes tasks." Open source and self-hosting are winning the first; nobody has won the second — which is exactly why our office-agent entries keep updating. These digests will continue irregularly: links, excerpts, and opinions, never full republication.