OpenAI Adds Locked Chats to ChatGPT and Acquires Orchestra Bio to Strengthen Life Sciences AI
OpenAI announced two changes on Tuesday. It introduced a privacy feature that lets ChatGPT users lock their conversations, and it bought Orchestra Bio, a startup that makes AI software for biotech companies. The purchase will help OpenAI expand its work in life sciences.
The new Locked Chats feature lets users protect private conversations with a four-digit PIN, or with Face ID or Touch ID on supported devices. Unlike Temporary Chats, which take place in separate sessions outside the chat history, locked conversations can be opened again at any time. OpenAI said the feature is meant for situations such as discussing personal matters or planning a surprise, especially when users might let friends or family use their device.
Locked conversations move to a separate section. They do not appear in the regular chat history, pinned chats or search results. If Memory is turned on, locked chats have their own shared memory. This means new information from these chats will not carry over into regular conversations. OpenAI said locking a chat does not add end-to-end encryption or create a separate encrypted storage space. It also does not change how long chats are kept, remove information the system remembered before the chat was locked, or change the setting that controls whether chats can be used to improve models. Resetting a PIN permanently deletes all content protected by the old PIN.
Locked Chats cannot be used for temporary, archived, group or shared-link chats, or chats with scheduled tasks or meeting recordings. The feature is being made available to users on Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu plans, but not ChatGPT for Healthcare. The launch comes as more people use ChatGPT for personal conversations. However, the feature does not address wider concerns about how sensitive information is stored.
In other company news, OpenAI bought Orchestra Bio, a four-year-old startup that builds AI agents to help biotech companies manage drug discovery work. These agents handle tasks ranging from tracking finances to fixing clinical trial scheduling problems. The companies did not share the purchase price. Reports said Orchestra Bio had raised about $20 million by 2025 from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Atria and 8VC.
OpenAI said Orchestra Bio's team and technology will support Rosalind, its AI model for life sciences research, and the related Rosalind Workbench. The Workbench is a tool designed to help researchers plan experiments and study their results. OpenAI said Moderna and Novo Nordisk are among Rosalind's customers.
The deal shows how leading AI companies, especially OpenAI and Anthropic, are building more software for major industries such as pharmaceuticals. Startups have long worried that these AI companies could become direct competitors. In this case, however, Orchestra Bio is being brought into OpenAI rather than pushed out of the market.