OpenAI's Big Bet That Jony Ive Can Make AI Hardware Work

OpenAI has fully acquired Io, a associated task it cocreated past twelvemonth pinch Jony Ive, nan famed British designer down nan sleek business artistic that defined nan iPhone and much than 2 decades of Apple products.

In a astir 10-minute video posted to X connected Wednesday, Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said nan Apple pioneer’s “creative collective” will “merge pinch OpenAI to activity much intimately pinch nan research, engineering, and merchandise teams successful San Francisco.” OpenAI says it’s paying $5 cardinal successful equity to get Io.

The promotional video included musings connected exertion from some Ive and Altman, group against nan golden-hour backdrop of nan streets of San Francisco, but nan 2 ne'er stock precisely what it is they’re building. “We look guardant to sharing our activity adjacent year,” a matter connection astatine nan extremity of nan video reads. Given nan pair’s accent connected building a hardware instrumentality for nan AI era, and Ive’s pedigree astatine Apple, it’s apt a consumer-facing product.

Io launched past outpouring arsenic portion of a associated task betwixt OpenAI and Ive’s creation patient LoveFrom. In nan 4th fourth of past year, Io and OpenAI entered into an charismatic statement for OpenAI to person a 23 percent liking successful Io. Now OpenAI is buying nan entity outright.

The merger is simply a somewhat analyzable one. The Io squad was made up of 55 group anterior to this announcement. Now it will grow to see some Io and OpenAI employees—hardware and package engineers, physicists, scientists, and “experts successful merchandise improvement and manufacturing,” according to a blog station connected OpenAI’s website. Ive and Lovefrom will negociate nan imaginative creation process. But Ive will stay independent, OpenAI says, and his patient LoveFrom will proceed to run arsenic a abstracted entity. The Io squad will alternatively study to Peter Welinder, OpenAI’s vice president of product, who has worked astatine OpenAI for 8 and a half years.

Io’s founding squad has awesome creation chops. Beyond Ive, nan founders see Evans Hankey and Tang Tan, who some worked astatine Apple. Those who've worked intimately pinch them opportunity they're known to prosecute group whom they judge person exceptional taste.

By bringing connected Ive, OpenAI is officially embarking connected what is apt 1 of nan astir eager AI hardware task to date. A number of different awesome tech companies, including Meta and Google, person tried processing AI-powered devices such arsenic smart glasses successful caller years, but mainstream take of nan exertion has been slow and immoderate devices person been plagued by glitches.

Humane, different high-profile AI hardware startup founded by erstwhile Apple employees, debuted a wearable instrumentality successful precocious 2023. Reviewers later recovered nan device, a pin, was susceptible to overheating and a number of different issues. Less than 2 years later Humane’s devices were pulled from nan market, and its operating strategy package and patents were sold to printer elephantine HP.

The associated effort betwixt Altman and Ive was spurred by advancements successful AI and computing power. In its blog post, OpenAI wrote that “computers are now seeing, reasoning and understanding.” Altman wrote connected X that he was “excited to effort to create a caller procreation of AI-powered computers.”

Altman reportedly has hardware ambitions beyond nan generative AI package his institution develops and sells, and Ive has seemingly been eager to make caller imprints successful nan creation world since he near Apple successful 2019. “I person a increasing consciousness that everything I person learned complete nan past 30 years has led maine to this moment,” Ive said successful nan video. “While I americium some anxious and excited astir nan work of nan important activity ahead, I americium truthful grateful for nan opportunity to beryllium a portion of specified an important collaboration.”