OpenAI Buys Startup Co-Founded by Jony Ive in AI Hardware Push

In a bold signal of its ambition to expand beyond software, OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, has acquired io Products, an artificial intelligence hardware start-up that was co-founded by the legendary former Apple design chief, Sir Jony Ive.

It marks OpenAI’s biggest purchase to date and reflects a huge expansion into the consumer hardware space by OpenAI.

io Products was founded quietly last year by Mr. Ive, who is a former Apple executive, and his former colleagues Mr. Cannon, Ms. Hankey and Mr. Tan. The startup is in stealth mode, developing an entirely new family of AI-native devices. Details about these devices have not been revealed, but OpenAI CEO Sam Altman teased products that move AI out of conventional screens and into users’ daily lives.

Others think form factors may be imagined up from there, from advanced wearables and smart home devices to other interfaces that are even more newfangled.

Ive, best known for designing iconic Apple products such as the iPhone, the iMac and the Apple Watch, left Apple in 2019 to set up his own design agency, called LoveFrom. Ive will not be an employee of OpenAI, but LoveFrom, his new company, is said to be undertaking deep creative and design responsibilities within both OpenAI and io.

The purchase comes after a two-year partnership between Altman and Ive, with OpenAI already owning 23% of io before the deal was announced.

The move puts OpenAI in direct competition with other tech giants, such as Apple, Google and Meta, who also are experimenting with AI-influenced hardware. If nothing else, this acquisition provides OpenAI with advanced design expertise and hardware knowledge that could enable it to design custom hardware tuned for its more-advanced AI models.

In a joint statement, Altman and Ive shared their desire to forge ahead with creating “a new generation of products that inspire a change in user behaviour and are far more powerful than anything at present.” I have said he feel the 30 years of experience have all been top him to this moment and he is happy and at the same time worried to see what the substantial work now in sight will bring.

The purchase is pending regulatory approval and is expected to close this summer. The new hardware division at OpenAI will be helmed by Peter Welinder, a long-time OpenAI executive. The first fruits of this partnership are expected to materialize by next year, heralding a new era in the history of both OpenAI and the future of consumer-oriented AI.