We’re not competitors. We’re collaborators. OpenRouter routes the world’s models. Backboard gives them memory.

Setting the Record Straight

There’s a growing assumption in the AI developer community that Backboard and OpenRouter are competing platforms. The truth is the opposite. Backboard runs on top of OpenRouter, not against it. We’re striving to be one of its biggest users and proud of it.

OpenRouter has built one of the most elegant solutions for routing and access across thousands of large language models (LLMs). They’ve made it simple for developers to experiment with, compare, and deploy the best models for their needs. Backboard builds on that foundation, adding persistence, configurability, and memory to make those models stateful and interoperable across projects.

How the Layers Work Together

To understand how these two platforms fit, think of OpenRouter as the transit layer and Backboard as the memory and orchestration layer.

• OpenRouter handles access, routing, and transparent pricing across 2,200+ LLMs.

• Backboard adds stateful memory, configuration management, evaluation tools, and model orchestration.

When a developer uses Backboard, they can select OpenRouter models directly inside their configuration stack, evaluate them against other providers, and store persistent context that travels across sessions and systems. That’s how Backboard turns OpenRouter’s routing capabilities into lasting, intelligent workflows.

Why We Use (and Recommend) OpenRouter

OpenRouter solved a hard problem beautifully making multi-model access frictionless. Their routing and billing system is clean, scalable, and developer-friendly. For us, it’s not a question of whether to use them it’s how to use them more.

We integrate OpenRouter into Backboard so our clients can:

• Experiment with hundreds of models without rebuilding pipelines

• Maintain persistent memory across those models

• Benchmark configurations for latency, accuracy, and cost

• Scale seamlessly while keeping vendor flexibility

In short, OpenRouter powers the variety; Backboard powers the continuity.

Partners in Building the Next Layer of AI Infrastructure

Backboard’s goal is to make AI systems stateful, portable, and compliant.
OpenRouter’s goal is to make them accessible and interoperable.

Those missions are naturally aligned. We don’t see OpenRouter as competition we see it as critical infrastructure for the next generation of intelligent systems. Our memory framework simply extends their reach, turning short-term queries into long-term intelligence.

The Bigger Picture

The future of AI isn’t about choosing one model or one provider. It’s about building systems that remember, adapt, and evolve no matter which model they’re running on.

OpenRouter gives developers freedom of choice.
Backboard gives them the ability to remember what they’ve learned.

Together, that’s the foundation of a smarter, more flexible AI ecosystem.