OpenAI acquires AI agent orchestration startup Ona

OpenAI Group PBC has announced plans to acquire Ona, a startup focused on managing long-running artificial intelligence agents through cloud-based solutions. The acquisition aims to address a key limitation in AI development: local AI agents shut down when developers turn off their workstations, halting multi-day tasks. Ona’s platform allows AI agents to run in cloud-based sandboxes, ensuring uninterrupted operation even when local machines are offline. The cloud environment also provides greater computing resources, enabling faster task completion. Additionally, Ona automatically deletes sandboxes when no longer needed, reducing the risk of data theft compared to local setups. Security is a core feature of Ona’s technology. Administrators can block risky programs, including those renamed or hidden by hackers, using cryptographic hashing to detect malicious applications. The platform also prevents AI agents from accessing sensitive credentials and restricts connections to potentially harmful servers. OpenAI will integrate Ona’s technology into its Codex AI assistant, which currently has over 5 million weekly users. The upgrade will enable Codex to handle long-running tasks spanning hours or days, with users able to review and input feedback on agent work. Ona’s team will join Codex’s development efforts to implement these improvements. This acquisition follows OpenAI’s March purchase of Promptfoo Inc., which enhanced cybersecurity for its OpenAI Frontier platform. The deal underscores OpenAI’s focus on expanding AI capabilities while addressing operational and security challenges in agent-based workflows.