Apple's former design chief, Jony Ive, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are actively working on their venture, known as "io Products," and it appears that OpenAI is considering acquiring the AI hardware startup for $500 million. The venture was established more than a year ago and focused on voice-enabled AI assistants for household products. It also includes the ambitions of an AI phone without a screen, but its purpose remains unknown at this point.
OpenAI to work with Jony Ive's new venture that will make different AI-powered products for the household, including a phone without a screen
People familiar with the matter claim that the phone without a screen is "not a phone," but it remains to be seen how the venture positions it. The project is still in its early stages of development and will require time before a physical product is released to the public. Moreover, there are also no concepts available that would give us an idea of how the device looks or performs.
The venture is being funded by Laurene Powell Jobs' Emerson Collective and Jony Ive himself, and the startup employs a small number of employees at this early phase, which includes Apple's former designers, including Tang Tan and Evans Hankey, who have worked on the iPhone. As for the acquisition, OpenAI is considering a full-fledged takeover, but also a partnership. According to The Information, this would allow OpenAI to gain access to the hardware technology and the engineering team that is developing the device.
The deal structure constitutes io Products being developed by the engineering team, while OpenAI will provide AI assistance to power the devices. Jony Ive, on the flip side, will work via his LoveFrom studio to contribute to the design of the devices. If everything goes well, OpenAI will put itself in direct competition with Apple with its iPhone and Apple Intelligence integration. OpenAI has also been working with Apple since June of last year as it brought ChatGPT to the likes of Siri, which still feels underpowered compared to the competition.
AI integration in chatbots is becoming one of the hottest products in the industry, and various companies, including OpenAI, X, Anthropic, Google, and more, are exploring the space. It remains to be seen how Apple and its Siri will sit between the competition and if it will be capable enough to rival the likes of the new entrants. We will share more details on the matter as soon as further information is available.
