OpenAI has acquired the developer of Sky, an automation app for macOS

OpenAI continues its rapid growth and yesterday announced the acquisition of Software Applications Incorporated. That company is best known for its Workflows app – it’s the one that Apple acquired in 2017 and turned into the iOS automation service Shortcuts.

This year, Software Applications introduced Sky, a new automation app for the Mac. Given that Sky is focused on so-called “agent-based AI” – artificial intelligence that can perform actions on behalf of the user, OpenAI’s interest in this development is understandable.

“Sky understands what’s happening on the screen and can act through installed applications – whether it’s communicating, writing, planning or programming,” Software Applications said. “Now we’re joining OpenAI to make these capabilities available to even more people. We look forward to sharing more details.”

OpenAI intends to integrate “deep macOS integration and Sky’s thoughtful design” into ChatGPT. The entire Software Applications team will be moving to OpenAI.

In the meantime, Apple is working on similar features for an updated version of Siri. The company first demoed these features in 2024, but the new Siri isn’t expected to be released until spring 2026. Apple is reportedly planning for the voice assistant to be able to perform actions in third-party apps. As a reminder, OpenAI also recently added support for integrating third-party apps into ChatGPT.

The news of the Software Applications acquisition comes just days after OpenAI presented ChatGPT Atlas, its first web browser. The application is already available on macOS, and will soon be released on iOS, Android, and Windows as well. Earlier this month, OpenAI also acquired Roi, an artificial intelligence-powered personal investing app.