OpenAI to Acquire Startup Astral, Expanding Push Into Coding

OpenAI plans to acquire Astral, a startup that makes Python tools for developers, marking the ChatGPT maker’s latest investment in the fast-growing market for coding and developer services.

The deal, which hasn’t yet closed, will bring Astral’s team into OpenAI’s Codex effort, OpenAI said Thursday. Codex has more than 2 million users, the company said, a number that’s tripled since the start of this year. Astral’s suite of tools will push Codex — which can write software features, fix bugs and run tests — into a broader suite of developer services.