With new acquisition, OpenAI signals plans to integrate deeper into the OS
OpenAI has acquired Software Applications Incorporated (SAI), perhaps best known for the core team that produced what became Shortcuts on Apple platforms. Most recently, the team worked on Sky, a contextual AI interface layer on top of macOS. The financial terms of the acquisition have not been made public.
“Advancements in AI aren’t just about advancing intelligence, it’s also about unlocking it through interfaces that understand context, adapt to your intent, and operate seamlessly,” an OpenAI representative wrote in the company’s blog post about the acquisition. The post goes on to say that OpenAI plans to “bring Sky’s deep macOS integration and product design to ChatGPT, and all team members will join OpenAI.”
This includes SAI co-founders Ari Weinstein (CEO), Conrad Kramer (CTO), and Kim Beverett (product manager), all of whom worked together for several years at Apple after Apple acquired Weinstein and Kramer’s former company, which produced an automation tool called Workflows, to integrate shortcuts across software platforms from Apple.
SAI’s three founders left Apple to work on Sky, which leverages Apple’s APIs and accessibility features to provide context about what’s on screen in a large language model; The LLM takes user commands in plain language and executes them across multiple applications. At best, the tool aimed to be a bit like Shortcuts, but without configuration, generating workflows on the fly based on user prompts.
