OpenAI acquires Sky to bring AI-powered desktop assistant to Mac

OpenAI has acquired Software Applications, Inc., the startup behind Sky, an AI-powered natural language interface built for macOS. The acquisition, announced on Thursday, marks OpenAI’s step to integrate its AI technology directly into users’ daily workflows. This software hasn’t been released publicly yet; it is designed to function as an AI assistant that overlays your Mac desktop.

Sky is much like the agentic AI browsers such as Comet and Atlas from OpenAI and Perplexity; it can see what's on the screen and take proactive actions on your behalf.

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

This acquisition comes as Apple prepares to roll out an upgraded AI-powered version of Siri in 2026, alongside its Apple Intelligence features like the writing assistant, live translation, and image generation. While Apple focuses on privacy-centric AI tools, Sky’s approach of taking actions on behalf of users introduces bolder capabilities, but it also raises privacy concerns for some users.

OpenAI hasn’t disclosed the financial terms of the deal, but Pitchbook data shows that Sky raised $6.5 million in funding from investors, including Sam Altman, Figma CEO Dylan Field, Context Ventures, and Stellation Capital. This acquisition was reportedly led by Nick Turley, Head of ChatGPT, and Fidji Simo, CEO of Applications at OpenAI.

With this acquisition, OpenAI deepens its foothold in desktop computing and also gets closer to creating an agentic personal assistant capable of navigating user environments, a glimpse into the next generation of AI interaction for Mac users.