OpenAI earlierAnnounceIt acquired a company called Software Applications, whose most well-known product recently is the Mac platform automation application "Sky" which was launched just this year.
Software Applications actually has a storied background. Its founding team is the same developer behind the popular iOS automation tool "Workflows." Apple acquired Workflows in 2017 and integrated its technology into the "Shortcuts" feature currently built into iOS, macOS, and other operating systems.
OpenAI's acquisition of Software Applications is clearly driven by its deep experience in operating system-level automation and integration, especially given the growing importance of the concept of Agentic AI (AI that can perform operations on behalf of users).
Software Applications stated, "Whether you're chatting, writing, planning, or programming, Sky understands what's on your screen and can use your apps to perform actions." Following its acquisition by OpenAI, Software Applications confirmed that all its employees will join the OpenAI team and expressed its hope to bring these capabilities to more people.
OpenAI specifically stated that it plans to incorporate "Sky's deep integration with macOS capabilities and product engineering" into ChatGPT. This means that in the future, ChatGPT may be able to more directly operate other third-party applications on behalf of users within the macOS environment, performing more complex cross-app tasks.
Interestingly, this also coincides with the direction of Apple's recent active development of a new version of Siri. Apple has initially demonstrated its desire to enable Siri to perform operations in third-party apps in 2024, although this feature is not expected to be officially launched until spring 2026.
OpenAI has recently announced the integration of third-party apps for ChatGPT. The addition of Sky technology application functions will enable ChatGPT to help users perform more operations.
The acquisition of Software Applications is the latest step in OpenAI's recent expansion. A few days ago, OpenAI just released its first web browser.ChatGPT Atlas (macOS version is now available), and the acquisition was just announced earlier this month.AI-powered personal investing app Roi.
