OpenAI is planning a desktop ‘superapp’

OpenAI is at a crossroads, and the decision it has just made says a lot about where the biggest player in the artificial intelligence market stands today. Instead of scattering itself across more experimental projects — as it has done over the last two years — the company decided to focus on one ambitious goal: creating a desktop "superapp" that will combine ChatGPT, Codex coding, and Atlas browser into one cohesive application. This is not just a typical product reorganization. It is a signal that OpenAI has finally recognized that fragmentation of its ecosystem has become a problem, not an asset.

According to an internal memo cited by the Wall Street Journal, Fidji Simo, head of OpenAI's applications division, was clear: spreading products "slowed us down and made it harder to achieve the quality standard we want". This sentence sounds like an admission of a strategic mistake. Over the last two years, OpenAI did exactly what most startups in a growth phase do — it tested everything at once. Sora, Atlas, integrations with various platforms, hardware from Jony Ive. Spectacular announcements, media prestige, but in reality a blurred offering and teams scattered across projects.

Now, at a moment when Anthropic and Claude are beginning to take over territories that OpenAI considered its own — particularly in the developer segment thanks to Claude Code — Simo sends a clear signal: exploration is over, time to focus. "Companies go through phases of exploration and phases of refocusing; both are critical" — she wrote on X. "But when new ventures start to pay off, as we're seeing now with Codex, it's very important to double down and avoid distraction". This sounds like a recipe for success, but also like an admission that something went wrong.

Why fragmentation became OpenAI's curse

If you want to understand what happened at OpenAI over the last two years, imagine a company that won the lottery. It received unlimited funding, global fame, and access to the best talent. The normal response is: "Let's do everything at once". That's exactly what OpenAI did. The result? Product chaos.

A user wanting to work with AI had to juggle several applications. ChatGPT for conversation, Codex for coding, Atlas for browsing the web. Each had its own interface, its own logic, its own learning curve. This may not sound like a serious problem, but in the AI industry — where competition is ruthless — every friction in user experience is an opportunity for a competitor. Anthropic understands this. Claude is one cohesive application. Simple, intuitive, versatile.

Additionally, fragmentation had a deeper organizational cost. OpenAI teams were scattered across projects, which meant duplicating work, lack of synergy between teams, and difficulty maintaining consistency in quality standards. When Simo says that fragmentation "slowed us down," she's not just talking about the user interface. She's talking about the entire internal machinery that began to jam under its own weight.

It's also worth remembering that OpenAI is no longer a startup in the exploration phase. It's a company that needs to deliver results. Investors are waiting for revenue growth, and every project that doesn't generate value is being held accountable. The superapp is the answer to that question: how do we consolidate our offering to make it more competitive and profitable?

Superapp — a model from Asia that finally reaches America

The term "superapp" is not new. It comes from Asia, where companies like WeChat and Alipay built entire ecosystems within a single application. Nowadays, a superapp is an application that integrates multiple functions — communication, payments, shopping, services — in one place. The idea is simple: reduce friction, increase engagement, build an ecosystem that users don't want to leave.

OpenAI is adapting this model to the world of AI. The desktop superapp will combine:

• ChatGPT — the main conversational engine, the foundation of everything
• Codex — a specialized model for coding that has recently started gaining popularity
• Atlas — an AI-powered browser that can search the internet and integrate results

The combination of these three elements makes sense. A programmer could write code in one window, test it with ChatGPT in another, while simultaneously searching documentation in Atlas. All without switching between applications. This increases productivity, but more importantly — it increases the "sticky factor" — the likelihood that a user will spend more time within the OpenAI ecosystem.

An interesting note: the mobile version of ChatGPT is not changing, at least for now. This suggests that the superapp is primarily a desktop game, where users spend more time and where competition with Anthropic is most intense. Mobility is saved for later.

Claude Code and OpenAI — the battle for developers' hearts

To understand why OpenAI is doing this now, you need to look at the competition. Anthropic hasn't been sleeping. Claude Code — a specialized version of Claude for writing and debugging code — has become a hit among developers. Why? Because Claude Code does exactly what it promises: it integrates code writing, testing, and explanation into one workflow. It's fast, precise, and doesn't distract the user.

OpenAI has Codex, but Codex has been hidden in an application that many developers didn't know about. The superapp changes that equation. By combining Codex with ChatGPT and Atlas, OpenAI creates competition for Claude Code, but with additional functionality. You can write code, ask ChatGPT for explanations, and simultaneously search Stack Overflow or documentation through Atlas.

This is not copying Claude Code — this is surpassing it. At least that's the theory. In practice, everything depends on how well OpenAI integrates these three products. If it feels like three applications in one window, the superapp will be a failure. If it's a cohesive, intuitive experience, OpenAI can regain the initiative in the developer segment.

Simo didn't hide that Codex is a priority. "When new ventures start to pay off, it's very important to double down and avoid distraction" — she wrote. This statement is key. OpenAI admits that Codex is now the main battlefield, and that's why all the company's resources should focus on strengthening it and promoting it better.

End of the era of experiments, beginning of the era of consolidation

Simo's memo contains one word that expresses the strategic change: "side quests". She referred to avoiding being "distracted by side quests". In video game terminology, a side quest is a secondary task that distracts from the main goal. OpenAI has been doing many side quests over the last two years. Jony Ive's hardware, Sora, various integrations. They were interesting, generated media buzz, but were not main sources of value.

Now OpenAI is saying: enough. Focus. The main quest is: build the best desktop AI experience. Everything else waits. This is a cultural shift. For a company that gained fame through rapid innovation and experimentation, this is a breakthrough.

What does this mean for Polish users and developers? Much more. The superapp, if done well, will become a standard. Polish programmers who so far have switched between ChatGPT and Codex will be able to work in one cohesive interface. Polish tech companies building on OpenAI's API can count on a more stable and consolidated ecosystem. This is good news for the entire ecosystem.

Jony Ive and hardware — what happened?

One of the things that swirled in the media in recent months was the news that OpenAI bought Jony Ive's hardware company. It was big, prestigious news. The famous Apple designer works on AI hardware. Sounds great, but now a question arises: where did that go?

The answer is simple: hardware is a side quest. The superapp is the main quest. This doesn't mean OpenAI is abandoning hardware — but it means hardware is waiting. First you need to conquer the desktop. When the superapp is ready and dominant, then you can think about a dedicated device to run it.

This is a reasonable strategy, but it also shows how quickly priorities can change in the AI industry. A year ago Jony Ive was a star. Now he's on the waiting list.

Is the superapp enough to stop Anthropic?

Here comes the toughest question. Is the superapp enough? Anthropic is not sitting idle. Claude 3 is getting better, Claude Code is winning the market, and Anthropic is building its own infrastructure. OpenAI's superapp is a good move, but it's only one move.

The truth is that the battle for dominance in AI will not be won by any superapp. It will be won by the company that has the best model, the best infrastructure, and the best integrations with the ecosystem. OpenAI has an advantage in the model (GPT-5 will be powerful). Anthropic has an advantage in security and trust. Both companies are building infrastructure.

The superapp is a game about user experience. It's important, but it's only one part of the equation. OpenAI must win on three fronts simultaneously: technology, experience, and ecosystem. The superapp addresses experience. The other two fronts remain open questions.

The future: superapp as the foundation of the ecosystem

If the superapp works, OpenAI has a plan for the next five years. The desktop superapp is the foundation. On it will be built hardware (Jony Ive). On that will be built the mobile version (although for now it waits). On that will be built integration with other services and ecosystems.

This is a long-term game. OpenAI admits that over the last two years it was distracted. Now it's returning to basics. If it succeeds, they can move to the next phase of growth. If it fails, it will mean that OpenAI has lost the initiative to Anthropic and other competitors.

For an industry observer, this is a turning point. Not because the superapp is revolutionary — because it's not. But because it shows that even the biggest companies in AI must focus. They must choose. They must say "no" to many things to say "yes" to a few things. OpenAI is doing just that. Is it enough? Time will tell, but at least the strategy is clear: less scattering, more focus, more quality.