Can OpenAI’s Astral Deal Help Codex Catch Up to Anthropic’s Claude Code?

TLDR

• OpenAI is acquiring Astral, a startup that builds open source tools for Python developers
• Astral’s team will join OpenAI’s Codex AI coding assistant group
• Codex now has over 2 million weekly active users, up three-fold since January
• The deal takes aim at rivals Anthropic and Cursor in the AI coding tools market
• Financial terms were not disclosed; the deal is still pending regulatory approval

OpenAI announced Thursday it will acquire Astral, a startup known for building open source developer tools for the Python programming language.

Astral’s team will join OpenAI and work on Codex, the company’s AI coding assistant. The financial terms of the deal were not shared.

Astral has built a strong reputation in the Python developer community. Its tools are built to improve speed and reliability when writing Python code.

Marsh also confirmed that Astral’s open source tools will continue to be supported after the acquisition closes.

OpenAI launched its Codex platform last year and released a desktop app for it earlier in 2026. The company says Codex now has more than 2 million weekly active users.

That number represents a three-fold increase in users since the start of the year. Usage has grown five-fold in the same period.

OpenAI Targets Anthropic and Cursor in Coding Market

The AI coding tools market has grown fast over the past year. OpenAI is competing directly with Anthropic, which has gained traction with its Claude Code tool among developers.

Cursor is another rival that has built a following among software developers. OpenAI is pushing to grow Codex’s user base and close the gap.

The Astral acquisition is still subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval.

This deal is part of a wider push by OpenAI into acquisitions. The company hired Google’s Albert Lee in December to lead corporate development.

A String of Recent Deals

OpenAI closed a $6.4 billion acquisition of Jony Ive’s AI devices startup io in May 2025. Earlier this month, the company said it would buy cybersecurity startup Promptfoo.

In January, OpenAI acquired Torch, a health-care technology startup. The Astral deal adds to that growing list.

OpenAI is backed by Microsoft. The company has been expanding across multiple product areas as it faces growing competition in the AI market.

The acquisition of Astral is the latest move to strengthen its position in AI-powered developer tools specifically.

Codex’s five-fold jump in usage since January is the most recent data point OpenAI has shared on the product’s growth.

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