OpenAI Acquires Ona to Supercharge Codex for Long-Running AI Agent Tasks

OpenAI has officially announced its acquisition of Ona, a German startup previously known as Gitpod, which specializes in providing secure cloud development environments for AI agents. This strategic move is set to significantly bolster the capabilities of OpenAI's Codex, transforming it from primarily a coding assistant into a more robust platform capable of managing complex, long-running tasks. The demand for such persistent capabilities has grown exponentially, with Codex now serving over 5 million weekly users, a remarkable 400% increase since the beginning of 2026. The need for AI agents that can operate continuously, even when a developer's workstation is offline, has become critical. Ona's technology addresses this by enabling agents to perform tasks over extended periods within secure cloud environments, ensuring work progresses beyond initial sessions. Johannes Landgraf, CEO of Ona, emphasized that AI agents require more than just intelligence; they need a "trusted workplace." Ona's infrastructure provides exactly this, offering secure, pre-configured cloud environments complete with the necessary tools, systems, and context for agents to execute tasks over hours or even days. This capability is crucial as enterprises increasingly look to deploy AI agents for production workflows, where issues like access controls, credential management, and data governance are paramount. The acquisition is also seen as a strategic play in the competitive AI landscape. By integrating Ona's technology, OpenAI aims to strengthen Codex's position against competitors, notably Anthropic's Claude Code, which has been recognized for its prowess in handling long-running coding tasks. The deal will allow Codex agents to operate within customers' own cloud environments, offering greater control over infrastructure, data, and security boundaries, while still leveraging OpenAI's advanced AI models and orchestration. While Codex initially gained traction as a tool for software developers, its user base has diversified, with knowledge workers now accounting for approximately 20% of its users and growing at triple the rate of the core developer group. This expansion underscores the broader applicability of agentic AI across various professional domains. The acquisition of Ona is expected to facilitate this evolution, enabling more organizations to transition from experimental AI deployments to fully integrated, autonomous enterprise solutions. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.