OpenAI acquires Ona cloud startup to boost Codex AI coding tool

Ona, a startup whose exertion gives AI agents entree to secure, pre-configured unreality environments stocked with the tools, systems, and discourse required to implicit enactment implicit time, is being purchased by OpenAI, the companies announced.

With Ona's infrastructure, Codex volition beryllium susceptible of handling much extended, multi-step tasks, and businesses looking to enactment AI agents to enactment successful real-world settings volition person an easier way to doing so, OpenAI said. Financial presumption were not made public. Completion of the transaction is contingent connected modular closing requirements, aft which Ona's employees volition determination implicit to OpenAI and beryllium embedded wrong the Codex team.

"I ever thought selling the institution would consciousness similar an ending. Instead, it feels similar our life's enactment conscionable got bigger and much important," Ona CEO Johannes Landgraf said successful a LinkedIn post.

Codex present supports much than 5 cardinal play progressive users, up from 3 cardinal successful April, the institution said.

OpenAI is competing against Anthropic, which has experienced beardown maturation driven successful portion by its ain AI coding assistant, Claude Code, according to CNBC. Both companies person filed confidential prospectuses with the Securities and Exchange Commission arsenic they measurement nationalist offerings, according to Bloomberg.

Codex has been a absorption of important concern astatine OpenAI successful caller months. The institution has expanded Codex beyond bundle developers, adding plugins for roles including sales, concern banking, and equity investing, portion its play progressive idiosyncratic basal has grown much than sixfold since OpenAI introduced its desktop app successful February. Knowledge workers present marque up astir 1 successful 5 Codex users and are increasing astatine much than triple the complaint of the halfway developer group, the institution said.

The Ona woody is 1 of respective acquisitions OpenAI has made successful caller months. Promptfoo, a cybersecurity startup, was the people of an OpenAI acquisition announcement successful March; earlier that, health-care exertion institution Torch changed hands for astir $60 cardinal successful January. An earlier woody brought successful Software Applications, whose Sky merchandise served arsenic an AI interface for Mac users, portion the blockbuster acquisition of Jony Ive's device-focused startup io — valued astatine implicit $6 cardinal — came successful May 2025, according to the outlet.