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OpenAI to Acquire Astral to Expand Codex’s Developer Capabilities

The deal brings Astral’s widely used Python tools into Codex to push the assistant beyond code generation.

Overview

  • Astral has agreed to join OpenAI, with its engineering team set to integrate into the Codex group to connect tooling with the assistant’s workflow.
  • OpenAI and Astral say the open-source projects Ruff, uv, and ty will continue to be supported after the transaction closes.
  • OpenAI reports Codex now exceeds 2 million weekly active users with roughly triple the user count and fivefold usage growth since January.
  • Financial terms were not disclosed, and the acquisition remains subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval.
  • The move targets growing competition from Anthropic’s Claude Code and the editor Cursor, while outside commentators highlight scrutiny over ownership of widely used Python infrastructure and potential investor gains.