OpenAI acquires Ona to boost Codex AI agent capabilities

OpenAI has announced an agreement to acquire the cloud infrastructure startup Ona, a move aimed at significantly enhancing the capabilities of its Codex AI coding assistant. The acquisition, which remains subject to customary closing conditions, will see Ona's team join OpenAI's Codex division to integrate its technology for managing long-running artificial intelligence agents.

Ona's platform provides secure, pre-configured cloud environments, or sandboxes, where AI agents can operate independently of a developer's local machine. This architecture allows agents to continue working on complex tasks for hours or even days without interruption, addressing a key limitation of local deployments where work halts when a workstation is powered down. OpenAI stated that this technology will enable Codex to handle longer-running assignments and improve tools for enterprise deployment. The company also highlighted security benefits, noting Ona's platform can restrict agent access to sensitive file systems and block connections to potentially malicious servers.

Upon completion of the deal, Ona's employees will integrate into the Codex team to support ongoing development. In a LinkedIn post,...