Jony Ive and OpenAI partner to revolutionize AI hardware
OpenAI acquires Jony Ive's startup, io, for $6.5B, signaling a move into hardware! Ive will lead AI device design, with first products expected in 2026.
Jony Ive’s startup, io, now has a new home with OpenAI, which recently acquired the company in a $6.5 billion deal. The acquisition is set to usher in an era of hardware for the artificial intelligence company.
The deal is said to have been two years in the making. Reports from The Wall Street Journal indicate that the companies have agreed on an all-equity deal, as OpenAI remains a non-profit organization. The company is now paying approximately $5 billion for full ownership of io after having gained a 23 percent stake in the brand at the end of 2024. The deal remains subject to regulatory approval.
Ive’s talents as design lead at Apple brought the industry well known designs, including the original iMac color edition, the iPad, Apple Watch, and the iPhone, which revolutionized the slate smartphone design. He is set to bring that discerning eye to OpenAI to develop hardware that will coincide with the brand’s AI developments.
Within the deal, Ive will also run his design studio, LoveForm, as an independent entity. Ive’s colleagues, including Tang Tan, who co-founded LoveForm, and Apple alumni Evans Hankey and Scott Cannon, are set to join OpenAI, in addition to approximately 50 engineers, designers, and researchers, according to The New York Times.
While news of the deal does not include specific details of what kind of devices the companies will develop together, Ive and OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman, reportedly have a vision to create AI-powered devices that will move consumers “beyond screens.” The first of these devices is expected to be released in 2026, according to Bloomberg.
Notably, a TechCrunch report from February indicated that the brand “OpenAI” was seen at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) associated with headphones, goggles, glasses, remotes, laptop and phone cases, smartwatches, smart jewelry, virtual and augmented reality headsets “for AI-assisted interaction, simulation, and training.”
Additionally, Ive is set to also be involved in future development of the ChatGPT chatbot, in addition to other OpenAI services, according to The Wall Street Journal.