OpenAI combines ChatGPT and Codex under the leadership of Greg Brockman. The side missions have concluded.

      TL;DR: OpenAI has merged ChatGPT, Codex, and its API under Greg Brockman to streamline its focus on a singular agentic platform ahead of its IPO, discontinuing other side projects. Brockman, co-founder and president, will now lead product strategy, uniting ChatGPT and Codex into one cohesive experience. This reorganization follows a temporary arrangement that started when CEO Fidji Simo took medical leave in April.

      Under Brockman’s leadership, four main areas have been established: Thibault Sottiaux, the engineer behind Codex's rapid growth, is leading core product and platform; Nick Turley, who managed ChatGPT's growth to over 900 million active users, is now focusing on enterprise products; and Brockman continues overseeing AI infrastructure, including the Stargate data center project. Although OpenAI indicated Simo worked closely with Brockman on these changes and plans to return, no specific timeline has been provided.

      This consolidation marks a strategic pivot that began in December when then-CEO Sam Altman indicated a need to prioritize the ChatGPT experience. Following this, OpenAI discontinued the Sora video generation app due to its excessive resource consumption and an unfulfilled $1 billion investment from Disney, paused its adult mode for ChatGPT after receiving pushback, and halted OpenAI for Science. Leadership changes included departures of Sora's head, Kevin Weil, and product lead Bill Peebles, with paused initiatives referred to internally as "side quests."

      Brockman explained in a podcast that resource limitations necessitate this consolidation, as maintaining separate product teams for converging capabilities is unsustainable. Merging the teams will focus engineering efforts on a single platform capable of conversation, coding, and task execution.

      The competitive landscape remains intense. Cursor has achieved $2 billion in annualized revenue and is negotiating a $50 billion valuation, highlighting the rapid growth in agentic coding tools. Anthropic’s Claude Code is gaining traction among enterprise developers, while Google’s Gemini has increased its AI web traffic share, and ChatGPT’s share has declined in the same period. OpenAI is not launching a product counter to Google I/O this year but rather realigning its organizational structure.

      The restructuring is also aligned with OpenAI’s planned IPO in Q4 2026, targeting a valuation of around $852 billion. By offering a unified product instead of a collection of apps, OpenAI presents a clearer story to institutional investors. A streamlined revenue model comprising one subscription tier and a single enterprise offering will replace the previous structure, which created internal competition for resources.

      The timing is complicated by the ongoing Musk v. Altman trial, with jury selection beginning in Oakland. Musk seeks $150 billion in damages and a reversal of OpenAI’s transition from nonprofit to profit. A critical piece of evidence includes a 2017 diary entry from Brockman questioning the nonprofit commitment, as he now leads both product strategy and infrastructure amid a trial that could impact the company’s legal status.

      OpenAI plans to gradually launch a unified platform internally referred to as an agentic "super app." Codex will first adapt to productivity tasks beyond coding, followed by the integration of ChatGPT and the research tool Atlas, with no specific launch date announced. The goal is a single application that allows users to converse, code, execute tasks, browse the web, manage files, and engage with external services, all powered by a unified model and generating revenue through one subscription or API billing relationship.

      The board’s decision to entrust both product strategy and infrastructure to Brockman reflects a strong level of confidence in his leadership amidst challenges presented by managing an extensive user base and preparing for an IPO. The focus has shifted from side projects to the primary objective: to build the platform, launch the agent, and go public, with all other initiatives being halted.