OpenAI has announced the acquisition of Python tools developer Astral, as the ChatGPT owner seeks to strengthen its portfolio in the face of competitor Anthropic and capture a larger share of the market for tools for writing AI code.
OpenAI has announced the acquisition of Python tools developer Astral, as the ChatGPT owner seeks to strengthen its portfolio in the face of competitor Anthropic and capture a larger share of the market for tools for writing AI code.
The companies did not disclose financial terms of the deal, but said that as part of the acquisition, Astral's developer toolset will be integrated into Codex, Reuters writes .
OpenAI reported that the number of active Codex users exceeded 2 million per week. This means that since the beginning of the year, the number of users has tripled, and the intensity of use of the platform has increased fivefold.
Astral has become a major player in the Python community, with tools designed to make programming in the language faster and more reliable.
“OpenAI will continue to support our open source tools after the deal closes,” Astral founder and CEO Charlie Marsh said in a statement.
Recall that OpenAI began 2026 by acquiring business software developer Convogo . The company also acquired medical startup Torch in January.
