OpenAI Sees Surge in Codex Usage, Plans Wider Agent Expansion

Controversy over Pentagon deal overshadows growth of AI coding tool

Published on Mar. 4, 2026

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OpenAI says usage of its AI coding tool Codex has surged, with more than 1 million downloads of the Codex desktop app and over 1 million active weekly users, a threefold increase since the launch of the latest version. The company plans to expand Codex as a foundation for AI agents across enterprise deployments, including for non-technical workers. However, news of Codex's success has been overshadowed by controversy over OpenAI's deal to supply AI to the Pentagon.

Why it matters

Codex's growth highlights the increasing adoption of AI-powered coding tools, which can automate various tasks for developers and potentially expand to other business domains. However, OpenAI's Pentagon deal has sparked criticism and a consumer boycott of its ChatGPT product, potentially impacting the company's overall reputation and business prospects.

The details

Since early February, when OpenAI launched GPT-5.3 Codex, the latest version of its coding agent, the company has seen a surge in usage. More than 1 million people have downloaded the Codex desktop app, and the tool now boasts more than 1 million active weekly users, a figure that has tripled with the release of the new model. Usage, as measured in the number of tokens processed per week, has grown by a factor of five. Several major companies, including Cisco, Nvidia, Ramp, Rakuten, and Harvey, have rolled out Codex across their developer teams.

  • In early February 2026, OpenAI launched the latest version of its Codex AI coding tool.
  • Since the launch of GPT-5.3 Codex, the number of active weekly users has tripled.

The players

OpenAI

An artificial intelligence research company that has developed the Codex AI coding tool.

Thibault Sottiaux

The head of OpenAI's Codex product, who outlined the company's plans to expand Codex as a foundation for AI agents across enterprise deployments.

Anthropic

An AI research company and a rival to OpenAI, which has also sought to position its AI agent product Claude Code as a tool for non-technical users.

Peter Steinberger

The independent developer who built OpenClaw, an open-source AI agent harness, and has since been hired by OpenAI.

Sam Altman

The CEO of OpenAI, who acknowledged the company's contract with the Pentagon was "opportunistic and sloppy" and has since renegotiated parts of the agreement.

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What they’re saying

“Fundamentally, the agent is composed of the model, and then the harness that enables us to access your file system, make changes. There's very little that is specific to coding.”

— Thibault Sottiaux, Head of Codex Product, OpenAI (Fortune)

“If we manage to sandbox it properly and make it safe for non-technical users, then suddenly you can bring the power of coding agents to billions of users.”

— Thibault Sottiaux, Head of Codex Product, OpenAI (Fortune)

“[OpenClaw] is a magical experience and a glimpse of the future, but it's not something that everyone should just run on their machine unchecked.”

— Thibault Sottiaux, Head of Codex Product, OpenAI (Fortune)

“The [Pentagon] contract was opportunistic and sloppy, and the company has since renegotiated parts of the agreement.”

— Sam Altman, CEO, OpenAI (Fortune)

What’s next

OpenAI plans to continue expanding Codex as a foundation for AI agents across enterprise deployments, including for non-technical workers, though it still has work to do on security, managed deployments, and on-premises offerings.

The takeaway

The surge in Codex usage highlights the growing adoption of AI-powered coding tools, but OpenAI's controversial Pentagon deal has overshadowed this success and sparked a consumer boycott, potentially impacting the company's overall reputation and business prospects. As AI agents become more prevalent, balancing innovation with ethical considerations will be crucial for tech companies like OpenAI.