OpenAI acquires former Apple designer Jony Ive's device startup io, developing 'the coolest' AI hardware the world has ever seen, set to be released as soon as 2026
AI company OpenAI has announced that it will acquire io, an AI hardware company founded by Jony Ive, who has been responsible for the design of many Apple products such as the iPhone and iPod.
Sam and Jony introduce io | OpenAI
OpenAI to Buy Apple Veteran Jony Ive's AI Device Startup in $6.5 Billion Deal - Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-05-21/openai-to-buy-apple-veteran-jony-ive-s-ai-device-startup-in-6-5-billion-deal
Former Apple Design Guru Jony Ive to Take Expansive Role at OpenAI - WSJ
https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/former-apple-design-guru-jony-ive-to-take-expansive-role-at-openai-5787f7da
Jony Ive to lead OpenAI's design work following $6.5B acquisition of his company | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/21/jony-ive-to-lead-openais-design-work-following-6-5b-acquisition-of-his-company/
OpenAI is buying Jony Ive's AI hardware company | The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/news/671838/openai-jony-ive-ai-hardware-apple
io is an AI hardware company founded by Ive, former Apple's chief design officer, along with other Apple engineers Scott Cannon, Evans Hankey, and Tang Tan.
OpenAI announced on May 21, 2025 that it would acquire io. With the acquisition, approximately 55 hardware engineers, software developers, and manufacturing experts from io, including Cannon, Hankey, and Tan, will join OpenAI. In addition, the first device after the acquisition is expected to be released in 2026.
Ive will not join OpenAI, and his design firm LoveFrom will remain independent, but Bloomberg reports that 'Ive will take over all of OpenAI's design work, including software.'
According to Bloomberg, the acquisition price for io is $6.5 billion (approximately 930 billion yen).
In an interview with Bloomberg, Ive criticized previous AI hardware, the Rabbit R1 and the Humane AI Pin , calling them 'very poor products' and 'they don't represent any new thinking.'
Furthermore, regarding AI hardware from OpenAI and io, he said, 'We don't think our first product will replace the smartphone, just as the smartphone didn't replace the laptop.' OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also said, 'This is a whole new breed of thing.'
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, OpenAI has been working with LoveFrom for two years to explore AI hardware options, including headphones and camera-enabled devices.
OpenAI released the following video upon acquiring io, in which Ive said of the AI hardware being developed, 'It really captured our imagination,' and 'I believe we are on the brink of a new generation of technology that will literally make us better.' Altman said, 'Johnny recently brought me the prototype of this device for the first time. I can make a living from it, and I think it's the coolest technology the world has ever seen,' revealing that he is already using the prototype.
Sam & Jony introduce io - YouTube
In an interview with Bloomberg, Hankey said of the AI hardware that OpenAI and io are developing, 'A few of us looked at each other and said, 'This is probably the most amazing technology we've ever had in our careers.''
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OpenAI aims to ship 100 million AI devices for everyday use in the fastest time in history, with the first device to be released by the end of 2026, or in a form factor as compact and elegant as the iPod shuffle - GIGAZINE
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