Sam Bhagwat, co-founder of Gatsby and CEO of Mastra.ai, has publicly announced an ambitious goal to distribute 500,000 copies of his book, "Principles of Building AI Agents," this year. The announcement, made via a tweet, signals a significant push to disseminate knowledge on AI agent development to a broad audience. This initiative highlights a growing trend among tech leaders to democratize access to specialized technical education.
The book, "Principles of Building AI Agents," focuses on the practical aspects of developing AI applications using large language models (LLMs). It covers essential building blocks such as providers, models, prompts, tools, and memory, aiming to provide a comprehensive guide for both beginners and experienced developers. A second edition of the book was recently released on June 2, 2025, reflecting the rapid advancements in the AI field.
Bhagwat, a veteran in web development, previously co-founded Gatsby, a popular JavaScript framework, and now leads Mastra.ai, a TypeScript framework designed for AI agents. His expertise bridges traditional web development with emerging AI technologies, positioning him as a key voice in the evolving landscape of AI engineering. The book is available for purchase but also offered as a free PDF download, facilitating its widespread distribution.
The inspiration for this large-scale distribution effort reportedly came from an investor who encouraged Bhagwat to broaden the book's reach. As stated in his tweet, Bhagwat contrasted his goal with the common practice of reading many books: > "some people try to read 50 books / year this year i’m trying to send 500k people one book i wrote." This strategy includes promoting the book through channels like LinkedIn, where he has invited users to comment to receive a copy.
This initiative by Bhagwat and Mastra.ai could significantly impact the AI development community by providing accessible resources for learning about AI agents. The free distribution model aims to accelerate the adoption and understanding of AI agent principles among a diverse global audience. This move also aligns with Mastra.ai's mission to empower developers with tools for building intelligent AI systems.