OpenAI acquires Astral, the Python startup whose tools run on millions of developer machines

OpenAI is acquiring Astral, the startup whose tools quietly run inside the workflows of millions of Python developers. The deal drops Astral’s team into the Codex group, and the timing is not subtle: Anthropic’s Claude Code has been steadily pulling professional developers away, and OpenAI needs Codex to be more than a code generator to fight back.

Financial terms weren’t shared. Regulatory approval is still pending before the deal officially closes.