A few days after releasing its new AI browser Atlas, OpenAI has announced the acquisition of Software Applications Incorporated and its AI app Sky, which was created by former Apple employees. Ari Weinstein and Conrad Kramer, the founders of SAI, were crucial to Apple’s Shortcuts app release, as in 2017 Apple acquired their popular product Workflow, an iOS automation app.
While Kramer left Apple in 2019 and Weinstein in 2023, they teamed up again to start work on Sky. Although the app has never been made public, it’s reportedly a powerful natural language interface for the Mac, as AI can work alongside you while writing, planning, coding, or managing your day.
With that, OpenAI plans to combine Sky’s technology with ChatGPT to deeply integrate it into macOS. “We’re building a future where ChatGPT doesn’t just respond to your prompts, it helps you get things done. Sky’s deep integration with the Mac accelerates our vision of bringing AI directly into the tools people use every day,” says Nick Turley, VP & Head of ChatGPT.
Sky could bring to the Mac what Apple hasn’t deliver yet
While people have started to use AI more often, there’s still a limit to what they can actually do with it. The next frontier is certainly going to be artificial intelligence controlling not just a browser, but also understanding and helping people during their tasks at the computer, tablet, or smartphone.
Last year, Apple promised Siri would get on-screen awareness and be able to dig through conversations and apps and help you find a podcast a friend sent you a few weeks ago or edit a picture just by telling it what to do.
If OpenAI is able to integrate Sky deeply into ChatGPT, it’s very likely that the company could go a step further in how users interact with the Mac. “We’ve always wanted computers to be more empowering, customizable, 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,” said Ari Weinstein, Co-Founder and CEO, Software Applications Incorporated. BGR will let you know once OpenAI announces more details about future functionalities and products.
