// TECHCRUNCH — INTELLIGENZA ARTIFICIALE
After challenging Google’s Android with Cyanogen, its co-founder takes aim at Windows for AI era
Almost a decade after Cyanogen shut down its Android operating-system business following a years-long, unsuccessful effort to loosen Google’s dominance, its co-founder, Kirt McMaster, is now targeting Microsoft’s Windows with a new operating system designed for people who rely heavily on artificial intelligence in their everyday work.
McMaster’s company, Kora Systems, on Tuesday unveiled a Linux-based desktop operating system that integrates AI models and autonomous agents directly into the computing experience, allowing them to work across applications, access files, and retain context between tasks. The software is expected to launch in 2027 as a free-to-use desktop operating system, with support for existing Intel- and AMD-powered PCs as well as machines running Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips.
Kora is developing the eponymous operating system with a team of about 50 engineers, relying on AI coding tools including OpenAI’s Codex and Anthropic’s Claude. McMaster told TechCrunch that these tools have accelerated development by at least fivefold, with most of the gains coming over the past six months.
Microsoft has long dominated the PC operating-system market, making it hard for newer players to establish a foothold. Windows held about 77% of the worldwide desktop operating-system market in October, compared with nearly 10% for Apple’s OS X, according to StatCounter’s web traffic data.
However, McMaster believes Kora does not need to compete for Windows’ entire user base. He is rather targeting people who use AI extensively and are willing to pay for access to powerful models and services.
“Microsoft can keep its billion users,” McMaster said, estimating that 45 million to 50 million people currently account for much of AI usage and revenue. He expects that market to exceed 200 million users by 2033.
McMaster told TechCrunch that his experience at Cyanogen, where he spent over five years, taught him the dangers of relying on the very company he was trying to challenge. Cyanogen remained heavily dependent on Google Mobile Services despite offering features beyond Google’s version of Android. That ultimately restricted its ability to build an independent ecosystem.
“If you are trying to compete with an incumbent but are still reliant on them, you have no chance,” he said.
Kora, McMaster said, builds on an idea he pursued toward the end of his time at Cyanogen, when he began exploring ways to integrate third-party services directly into the operating system. With Kora, he wants AI models and agents to work across applications and access files without being confined to individual apps.
Previously known as Playtron, a gaming operating-system company led by McMaster, the Palo Alto-based company rebranded as Kora in July 2025 as it shifted its focus to AI. The decision came as early companies including Perplexity and OpenAI were moving into AI-powered web browsers, McMaster said. He believed browsers would not give AI agents enough access to a computer to carry out more complex tasks, making an operating system a better starting point.