News: 0181049988

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OpenAI Acquires Developer Tooling Startup Astral (cnbc.com)

(Thursday March 19, 2026 @06:00PM (BeauHD) from the latest-acquisition dept.)


OpenAI [1]announced it's [2]acquiring developer tooling startup Astral to strengthen its Codex AI coding assistant, which has over 2 million weekly users and has seen a three-fold increase in user growth since the start of the year. CNBC reports:

> "Through it all, though, our goal remains the same: to make programming more productive. To build tools that radically change what it feels like to build software," Astral's founder and CEO Charlie Marsh wrote in a blog post. The company's acquisition of Astral is still subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval.



[1] https://openai.com/index/openai-to-acquire-astral/

[2] https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/19/openai-to-acquire-developer-tooling-startup-astral.html


Removing competition (Score:3)

by AcidFnTonic ( 791034 )

Strengthen by removing competition

Re: (Score:2)

by dfghjk ( 711126 )

Also, interesting how much acquiring a non-profit can do. Free markets at work.

Ugh (Score:2)

by RevRagnarok ( 583910 )

I'm a fan of "ruff" and had hopes for moving some stuff to "uv" - I guess it's time to rethink that.

Re: (Score:2)

by ratbag ( 65209 )

Indeed. I've been using `uv` for a year and don't really want to lose it, but this is surely game over.

Also, why didn't OpenAI just get someone to vibe equivalent tools into existence for them? I sure ain't buying their dog food.

Instead of "make programming more productive" (Score:2)

by MpVpRb ( 1423381 )

It would be better to create AI tools that made software more secure, bug-free and efficient

More productive tools to creating bloated, inefficient, bug-ridden, insecure slop doesn't help

Astral uv for Python ... (Score:2)

by kbahey ( 102895 )

Some background from personal use of Astral's products ...

Astral makes a tool called [1]uv [astral.sh], for Python.

It offers one solution to an important problem in the Python ecosystem.

Certain projects require certain versions of Python.

You may end up with two projects that you need on the same machine, but with different Python versions.

For example, you want to run Home Assistant and AppDaemon.

Using uv, you can have two separate virtual environments (venv) each with its own version of Python.

It is also lightning speed f

[1] https://docs.astral.sh/uv/

Under heaven all can see beauty as beauty only because there is ugliness.
All can know good as good only because there is evil.
Therefore having and not having arise together.
Difficult and easy complement each other.
Long and short contrast each other:
High and low rest upon each other;
Voice and sound harmonize each other;
Front and back follow one another.
Therefore the sage goes about doing nothing, teaching no-talking.
The ten thousand things rise and fall without cease,
Creating, yet not.
Working, yet not taking credit.
Work is done, then forgotten.
Therefore it lasts forever.