OpenAI to acquire cloud startup Ona to boost Codex AI agents

OpenAI Group PBC announced its intention to acquire Ona, a startup formerly known as Gitpod that provides secure cloud sandboxes for AI agents. The acquisition, with undisclosed terms and subject to regulatory approval, will bring Ona’s technology into OpenAI’s Codex division. The platform enables AI agents to run long‑running, multi‑day workflows in persistent cloud environments, even when developers shut down their local machines, and adds security guardrails such as hash‑based application blocking and credential protection.

OpenAI said the deal will strengthen Codex – a coding assistant used by more than five million weekly users – by giving it trusted, scalable workspaces. "Enterprises want powerful agents that can do real work while meeting the security and control requirements of their environments," said Thibault Sottiaux, OpenAI’s Core Products Lead. "Agents need more than intelligence; they need a trusted workspace," added Johannes Landgraf, co‑founder and CEO of Ona.

The move follows OpenAI’s recent acquisitions of Promptfoo and Astral and is positioned as a response to Anthropic’s lead in enterprise AI agents, aiming to expand OpenAI’s foothold in the market for autonomous software development tools.