OpenAI launches Codex, an AI agent for coding

OpenAI launched a research preview on Friday of what it’s calling its most capable AI coding agent yet.

Codex, a cloud-based software engineering agent, can write features, answer questions about a codebase, fix bugs, and propose pull requests for review. Several tasks can run simultaneously, and users retain full access to their computers while the agent takes anywhere from one to 30 minutes to complete a task.

Since it’s still in research preview, the tool remains in early development. The company said in a blog post that it “currently lacks features like image inputs for front-end work, and the ability to course-correct the agent while it’s working. Additionally, delegating to a remote agent takes longer than interactive editing, which can take some getting used to.”

Over time, however, the company said using the service will feel more like asynchronous collaboration with colleagues.

Codex is available to ChatGPT Pro, Enterprise, and Team subscribers. Users will have “generous access at no additional cost” for a few weeks, after which OpenAI plans to introduce pricing options and rate-limited access.

Friday’s launch comes as part of a broader rise of AI tools for software engineers that are meant to handle repetitive, boring tasks rather than take over the whole gamut.

“We imagine a future where developers drive the work they want to own and delegate the rest to agents—moving faster and being more productive with AI,” OpenAI said.

Companies in the AI coding space are seeing massive revenues and high valuations. Anysphere, the startup behind coding platform Cursor, reportedly raised $900 million at a $9 billion valuation. Major tech companies are also racing to stake their claim. OpenAI competitor Anthropic released an agentic coding tool in February. In April, Google added new features to its AI coding agent, and Microsoft has been active in the space as well.

In addition to Codex, OpenAI is reportedly in talks to acquire Windsurf, a maker of AI coding tools, for around $3 billion—potentially its largest acquisition to date.

Investor confidence in OpenAI appears strong. In March, the company announced it had raised $40 billion at a $300 billion post-money valuation, making it one of the most valuable companies in the world.

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