OpenAI buys Ona to push Codex toward long-running, autonomous coding tasks

OpenAI is acquiring Ona, previously known as Gitpod, a startup founded in Kiel, Germany in 2020 that specializes in AI agents and secure cloud development environments for software development. The acquisition aims to expand OpenAI's Codex product with persistent, customer-controlled work environments. According to OpenAI, Codex is used by more than 5 million people per week, a 400 percent increase from the beginning of the year.

After the integration, Codex will be able to continue tasks over hours or days, even when the user's laptop is closed. The agents run in each company's own cloud, while OpenAI provides the models and orchestration. Agents need "more than intelligence," they need a "trusted workplace," said Ona CEO Johannes Landgraf. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals.