OpenAI Acquires Ona to Enable Persistent Cloud Execution for Codex

OpenAI has announced the acquisition of Ona, a provider of secure cloud execution and orchestration technology. This acquisition is designed to integrate Ona's infrastructure into the Codex ecosystem, enabling AI agents to perform complex, ambitious work that spans hours or days without requiring a user to remain connected to a specific device or session.

Persistent Execution Environments for AI Agents

Codex is currently used by over 5 million weekly users—a 400% increase since the beginning of the year. While Codex began as a tool for software developers, it is now used for research, analysis, and automation across a wider range of of users.

As the capabilities of Codex evolve, the work it performs is increasingly shifting from short-term tasks to long-running processes. Ona's technology provides the secure, persistent environments necessary for agents to access tools, systems, and context over time. This allows Codex to move beyond work tied to a single device or active session, ensuring that work continues even when a user's laptop is closed.

Enterprise-Grade Security and Production Workflows

For organizations to move from agent experimentation to production deployment, they require environments that meet strict security, governance, and operational requirements.

Ona's customer-controlled execution model allows agents to operate within an organization's own cloud environment. This architecture ensures that organizations maintain control over:

• Infrastructure and Data: Control over where agents run and the security boundaries of the data.
• Access and Credentials: Management of how credentials are scoped and what systems the agent can access.
• Logistics and Governance: Control over how activity is logged and how work progresses through review cycles.

By combining OpenAI's intelligence and orchestration with Ona's execution model, enterprises can deploy agents securely in production without limiting the capabilities of Codex.

Integration and Future Roadmap

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Until the deal closes, OpenAI and Ona will remain independent companies.

Following the closing, the Ona team will join OpenAI to work with the Codex team. The primary goal is to advance secure, persistent enterprise execution capabilities to help scale Codex to more enterprises globally. This integration aims to help engineering teams manage sustained work across the software lifecycle, including:

• Running tests and resolving issues.
• Modernizing applications.
• Vulnerability Management: Addressing security vulnerabilities over time.
• Workflow Support: Supporting complex, long-term workflows.