Kora operating system AI power users 2027, Digi Mart USA News: Kirt McMaster has presented Kora, a desktop operating system based on Linux that integrates AI models and agents. Planned for 2027, it is expected to be compatible with Intel, AMD and Qualcomm processors, and will include an enterprise version developed with Humain, the Saudi AI company.
The enterprise version, Humain OS, is expected to run on laptops equipped with Snapdragon chips in 2027. In parallel, the team has spent nearly a year working with Qualcomm engineers to optimize the operating system for Snapdragon PCs, including support for the Snapdragon X2 Elite.
Other partnerships with PC manufacturers are under consideration, though no names or timelines have been specified.
The core technology, including the Cortex AI engine and the desktop interface, remains proprietary, and the company has no plans to open its code. Kora intends to generate revenue through subscriptions providing access to AI models and agent services.
Investors include Samsung Next, Square Enix, Alumni Ventures, Polychain, VanEck and Circle, which are already backers of Playtron. McMaster said additional funds have been raised since the company refocused on AI, without disclosing the amount or valuation.
The Kora operating system is designed to integrate AI models and agents that can act within applications, access files and maintain context from one task to another. The Cortex engine is intended to process AI tasks locally where possible, while relying on cloud models for more demanding workloads.
Kora plans to support AI models and services from multiple providers. Technically, the software is built on Linux and uses Nix, replacing the Fedora Silverblue base of Playtron’s former GameOS.
The release of Kora is announced for 2027 as a free desktop operating system. Gaming integration remains part of the project, with AI-powered tools intended to allow users to create, publish and play directly within the system.
Support for Android applications is also included in the roadmap.
In October, Windows held roughly 77% of the global desktop operating system market, while Apple’s OS X reached nearly 10%, according to StatCounter. Microsoft has held a dominant position in this market for many years, making it difficult for new competitors to enter.
McMaster does not target this entire base; instead, he aims at users who make intensive use of AI and are willing to pay for powerful models and services. He argues that Microsoft can keep its billion users, while estimating that 45 to 50 million people currently account for most AI usage and revenue.
He predicts this market will exceed 200 million users by 2033.
McMaster previously spent more than five years at Cyanogen, and he cites the limits of dependence on Google Mobile Services, which he says hindered building an independent ecosystem. Toward the end of that period, he explored integrating third-party services directly into the operating system.
Kora extends this approach by targeting AI agents and models that operate at the system level, beyond application silos, for work-oriented uses heavily reliant on AI. The new project is thus positioned as an attempt to challenge Windows with an agent-oriented proposition.
Founded as Playtron and based in Palo Alto, the company was renamed Kora in July 2025 during a pivot toward AI, at a time when players such as Perplexity and OpenAI were betting on AI-powered web browsers. McMaster, however, considers the operating system a more suitable entry point for complex tasks.
This change allowed the company to build on nearly three years of development of GameOS, Playtron’s Linux gaming system. None of Kora’s engineers previously worked at Cyanogen; the company recruited mainly from the Linux gaming community.
The team of about 50 engineers relies on AI coding tools such as OpenAI’s Codex and Anthropic’s Claude. According to McMaster, these tools have accelerated development at least fivefold, with most of the gains achieved over the past six months.
