OpenAI merges ChatGPT and Codex under Brockman

OpenAI has folded ChatGPT, Codex and its developer API work into a single product organization under President Greg Brockman, according to company statements reported on May 16 and follow-up coverage published on May 18. The change gives Brockman permanent control of product strategy after he had already been overseeing products on an interim basis while CEO of AGI deployment Fidji Simo was on medical leave. In a staff memo described by Wired and cited by TechCrunch, Brockman said OpenAI was consolidating product efforts “with maximum focus toward the agentic future.” WWWhatsNew reported that the internal reorganization is meant to produce a single platform spanning chat, coding and broader task execution. ### What exactly is being merged? TechCrunch reported on May 16 that OpenAI plans to combine ChatGPT and its programming product Codex into a single unified experience, and that the company has also been discussing one core product team across ChatGPT, Codex and the API. WWWhatsNew, citing the same internal memo, said Brockman described “a single agentic platform” and a plan to merge ChatGPT and Codex into one experience for all users. (techcrunch.com) WWWhatsNew said the reorganization is already in place internally, while the product rollout would come in stages. The outlet said Codex would first expand beyond programming tasks, followed later by deeper integration with ChatGPT and an internal research tool called Atlas. It said no launch date was given. ### Why does Codex matter in this reorganization? (techcrunch.com) OpenAI said on May 14 that more than 4 million people now use Codex every week, giving the coding product a meaningful installed base as the company tries to tie it more tightly to ChatGPT. In the same announcement, OpenAI said Codex had entered preview inside the ChatGPT mobile app, allowing users to monitor and approve coding tasks from a phone while work continues on a connected machine. (wwwhatsnew.com) OpenAI’s developer changelog shows a steady stream of Codex updates in May, including mobile access on May 14, a Chrome extension on May 7 and access tokens for enterprise workflows on May 5. Those releases indicate that Codex was already being pushed across consumer and enterprise surfaces before the organizational change became public. ### What did Brockman say about the new structure? (openai.com) Brockman said in the memo cited by TechCrunch that OpenAI was consolidating product efforts “to win across both consumer and enterprise.” WWWhatsNew published a longer account of the same memo and said Brockman also wrote that OpenAI would “invest in a single agentic platform” and merge ChatGPT and Codex into “one unified agentic experience for all.” (developers.openai.com) TechCrunch reported that OpenAI told it Fidji Simo remained on medical leave but had worked with Brockman on the changes. That statement indicates the reorganization was not presented by the company as a break from existing leadership planning. ### Who else is being moved into new roles? WWWhatsNew reported that Thibault Sottiaux, who had led Codex, now oversees core product and platform work across consumer, enterprise and developer surfaces. (techcrunch.com) The same report said Nick Turley, previously associated with ChatGPT’s growth, would lead enterprise product renewal, while former Instagram vice president Ashley Alexander would take over ChatGPT product. Those personnel details have not been laid out in the OpenAI product posts reviewed here, but they fit the broader company description of one core product team spanning its main user and developer offerings, as reported by TechCrunch. ### What can users watch next? OpenAI’s public Codex changelog remains the clearest place to track near-term execution, with dated entries for app, browser and enterprise features. (wwwhatsnew.com) OpenAI’s May 14 product post also shows Codex is already being distributed through the ChatGPT mobile app, suggesting future integration steps are likely to appear first in product updates rather than in a standalone launch event. (openai.com) (techcrunch.com)