MCP in 2026: The numbers behind the ecosystem explosion
The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is experiencing rapid growth, with over 13,000 servers on npm and GitHub as of May 2026. Monthly SDK downloads have surged to 97 million, a threefold increase in six months, and new server registrations are up 400% year-over-year. MCP is evolving into a standard for granting AI models access to various tools like databases and file systems, though discovering specific MCP servers remains a challenge. To address this, a new tool, `mcp-hub`, has been developed to simplify server discovery and installation. AI
IMPACT Simplifies AI model integration with external tools, potentially accelerating adoption of AI agents.