OpenAI is acquiring Ona to enhance its Codex ecosystem with secure, customer-controlled cloud infrastructure, allowing for long-running agents to operate across software and knowledge work. This move expands Codex’s capabilities, enabling it to handle more complex tasks that unfold over hours or days. With Ona’s technology, Codex can now provide persistent environments for agents to access necessary tools and systems. This acquisition is significant as it addresses the growing need for secure and controlled AI deployments in production workflows. Why it matters: this acquisition marks a crucial step in OpenAI’s efforts to make AI more accessible and reliable for enterprises, paving the way for widespread adoption of AI-powered automation.