Ackii-Hire feels like they’re here. The team behind Alex, a popular tool that allows developers to use AI models within Apple’s development suite Xcode, is taking part in Openai.
In a post on X, Alex founder Daniel Edrisian said he is taking part in Openai’s Codex division, where the startup team is building the company’s AI coding agent.
Y Combinator-assisted Alex was founded in 2024 and attempted to integrate the AI model into Xcode. However, Apple updated Xcode earlier this year to allow users to tap on ChATGPT and other AI models without the need for external tools. Edrisian did not mention whether this was the reason his startup team joined Openai.
“When we started, Xcode didn’t have AI. Building a ‘cursor for Xcode’ sounded crazy, but we managed to do it anyway.
In an Alex blog post, the startup says it will continue to support existing users, but it will no longer be possible to download the app after October 1st. The company said the team will not add new features to the tool and will maintain the product as long as it is used by existing users.
Note that Alex’s Y-combinator list has three people working on coding tools for startups. It is not clear whether all of these employees are participating in Openai.
We asked Openai for comment and will update the story if we receive a reply.
TechCrunch Events
San Francisco
|
October 27th-29th, 2025
Openai has made several similar “acquises” in the past, and instead of buying the entire company, it only hired the team behind the startup. The company said earlier this week it was acquiring startup Statsig for $1.1 billion.
