We’ve known for a while now that Sam Altman has been working closely with Apple’s former design legend Jony Ive. While details about the collaboration have remained under the wraps, OpenAI’s CEO indicated that partnering with the design guru could lead to the biggest tech disruption since the iPhone launched in 2007.
Unsurprisingly, OpenAI just announced that it has acquired Ive’s AI device startup, io, for approximately $6.5 billion. The acquisition uniquely positions OpenAI to take on tech giants like Microsoft, Google, Apple, and Samsung in the hardware department with AI-powered devices.
This is by far the most significant purchase OpenAI has made, followed closely by the recent acquisition of Windsurf for $3 billion to bolster its AI models’ coding capabilities. The ChatGPT maker has enjoyed considerable success in the AI landscape, with ChatGPT gaining broad adoption across the world, though Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella argues that OpenAI had a two-year runway to build the chatbot uncontested.
Following io’s acquisition, the AI firm will not only be able to develop AI-powered devices but also leverage Jony Ive’s skillset alongside his team, which predominantly comprises former Apple designers.
While Apple has seemingly failed to deliver on its overpromised AI strategy with Apple Intelligence’s delay, the iPhone remains one of the most iconic devices ever developed, with a huge user base worldwide.
It’ll be interesting to see what Altman and Jony Ive cook up in the foreseeable future, which could tentatively ship in 2026. While speaking to Bloomberg, Sam Altman subtly disclosed that the first product they intend to develop won’t necessarily be a direct competitor of Apple’s iPhone:
“In the same way that the smartphone didn’t make the laptop go away, I don’t think our first thing is going to make the smartphone go away. It is a totally new kind of thing.”
Jony recently gave me one of the prototypes of the device for the first time to take home, and I’ve been able to live with it, and I think it is the coolest piece of technology that the world will have ever seen.
OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman
Per a report by The Wall Street Journal, OpenAI and Jony Ive’s LoveFrom have been working on headphones and devices with cameras over the past two years. Interestingly, the veteran designer says the first product they developed in collaboration “completely captured our imagination.”
