Over the last fifteen years, the Functional Mock-up Interface (FMI) has evolved by addressing real industrial needs for simulation interoperability. What began as a solution mainly for the automotive industry has now firmly established itself as the de-facto industrial standard for tool-independent model exchange and co-simulation across numerous domains. This keynote will trace the journey of FMI from its initial concepts in version 1.0 to the powerful ecosystem of today. The release of FMI 3.0 marks a pivotal milestone in this journey, enabling major improvements that redefine the boundaries of system simulation. This new version introduces advanced co-simulation capabilities, facilitates the development and deployment of virtual ECUs, and seamlessly integrates FMI models into complex optimization and machine learning workflows. These enhancements empower engineers to tackle new challenges in digitalization and automation with greater efficiency and fidelity. Looking to the road ahead, the FMI standard continues to expand through the development of Layered Standards. These domain-specific extensions, built on top of the core FMI framework, enable further improvements and unlock entirely new use cases for virtual engineering. This talk will provide a comprehensive look at FMI’s past, present, and future, celebrating its role as a cornerstone of modern model-based development.