OpenAI acquires Sky, an AI interface for Mac

OpenAI announced Thursday that it has acquired Software Applications, Inc., a maker of an AI-powered natural language interface for Mac computers called Sky.

This software product had not yet been released to the public, but it was designed to accompany you throughout the day as you write, plan, code, and use apps on your computer. Like an AI browser, Sky can see what you see on your screen and take actions within the app.

This move is an important step toward embedding OpenAI’s technology into consumers’ daily lives and businesses running on Macs.

“We’ve always wanted computers to be more powerful, customizable, and intuitive. With LLM, we can finally put the pieces together. That’s why we built Sky, an AI experience that floats on your desktop and helps you think and create. We’re excited to join OpenAI and bring that vision to hundreds of millions of people,” Ari Weinstein, co-founder and CEO of Software Applications, said in a statement.

It is worth noting that the team behind Sky had another notable sending off before this.

Weinstein and Conrad Kramer previously co-founded Workflow, which they sold to Apple and became the technology now known as Shortcuts. Both continued to work at Apple for several years until leaving in August 2023 to found Software Applications. Sky’s third co-founder and COO, Kim Beverett, was a senior program and product manager at Apple, where she spent nearly a decade working on technologies such as Safari, WebKit, privacy, Messages, email, phone, FaceTime, and SharePlay.

Apple, which has so far lagged in the AI ​​field, is expected to launch a completely revamped Siri with AI smarts next year. Apple is already shipping other features that leverage its AI technology, known as Apple Intelligence, including writing helper, live translation, image creation, and visual search. It also works with OpenAI to shuffle queries that Siri can’t respond to in ChatGPT. Apple Intelligence works across platforms, including Mac.

In addition, Apple offers the Foundation Models framework, which provides access to local AI models, allowing developers to embed AI directly into their apps.

But Apple values ​​privacy as a core part of its AI services, and an agent system that views a user’s screen and performs actions on their behalf could raise concerns for some security-conscious customers. Agentic AI is still in its infancy, and recent reviews have shown that AI browsers have many safety risks. As a result, it may take some time for Apple to launch a Mac AI system that rivals Sky.

Terms of the OpenAI acquisition were not disclosed, but the makers of Sky raised $6.5 million from investors including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Figma CEO Dylan Field, Context Ventures, and Stellation Capital, according to Pitchbook data. OpenAI disclosed that Altman had a passive interest in the startup through an investment fund.

The deal was led by Nick Turley, Head of ChatGPT, and Fidji Simo, OpenAI’s CEO of Applications, and was approved by OpenAI’s Board of Directors.