OpenAI will merge its ChatGPT app, Codex coding platform, and Atlas browser into a single desktop application, marking a strategic consolidation as the company prepares for a potential public offering this year. The unified "super app" aims to streamline development efforts that have been fragmented across multiple platforms, according to internal discussions reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Fidji Simo, OpenAI's CEO of Applications, will oversee the integration with assistance from President Greg Brockman. In an internal memo shared with her team, Simo acknowledged that "spreading our efforts across too many apps and stacks" has slowed progress and made it harder to maintain quality standards according to 9to5Mac.
The company confirmed the super app plans to CNBC on Thursday following Simo's all-hands meeting earlier this month where she emphasized focusing on high-productivity use cases. The consolidation represents a shift from exploration to execution for OpenAI, which hired Simo from Instacart last May to bring product discipline ahead of its anticipated IPO.
"Companies go through phases of exploration and phases of refocus; both are critical," Simo posted on X Thursday.
"But when new bets start to work, like we're seeing now with Codex, it's very important to double down on them and avoid distractions."
Central to the new application will be so-called "agentic" AI capabilities that allow artificial intelligence systems to work autonomously on users' computers. These systems could perform tasks including writing software code and analyzing data with minimal human input according to reports.
Over coming months, OpenAI expects to add these autonomous features within Codex before merging ChatGPT and the Atlas browser into the unified platform. The move addresses what internal discussions identified as development challenges from maintaining separate applications.
By consolidating tools into one interface, OpenAI aims to create a central hub for both everyday users and professionals seeking productivity gains from AI assistance according to HNGN. The mobile ChatGPT app will remain unchanged while desktop users transition to the combined application.
OpenAI's reasoning models have shown increasing capability for autonomous work in recent months. Researchers used GPT-5, the large language model powering Codex, to discover new solutions to unsolved math problems and break through dead ends in biology, chemistry, and physics puzzles according to MIT Technology Review.
Chief scientist Jakub Pachocki noted that GPT-4 could work on problems far longer than its predecessor without specialized training.
"What really matters for us right now is staying focused and executing extremely well," Simo told employees during the all-hands meeting according to CNBC.
The company rocketed into mainstream awareness following ChatGPT's 2022 launch and has since become one of the fastest-growing commercial entities globally while facing competition from Google and Anthropic.
