Openai CEO Sam Altman is not content with smartphones or laptops as the main interface to AI in everyday life. He has good stuff from Jony Ive, a famous designer behind the iPhone, to help imagine what will happen next. In its largest acquisition to date, Openai will buy IVE's hardware startup for a year with IO's IO for a $6.5 billion contract. According to Openai's blog post, the merger today announced (May 21), bringing together the shared vision of Altman and Ive to create “new products” built specifically for AI.
“I’m increasingly feeling that everything I’ve learned over the past 30 years has brought me into this moment,” Ive said. I’m going to take on the design and creative responsibilities of the entire OpenAI and IO through his design company through Lovefrom, but still remain independent of the AI company in a statement. “While I feel anxious and excited about the responsibility for the substantive work in the future, I am very grateful for the opportunity to be such an important collaboration.”
After his son started trying Chatgpt, I shared in a video that made the announcement his son introduce Openai for the first time after his son started the experiment. This curiosity led to a meeting with Ultraman, and the two began to envision new hardware that was more suitable for AI, a collaboration that inspired IVE to establish IO in 2024.
The startup was co-founded by Ive, who left Apple in 2019, and several former Apple colleagues including Scott Cannon, Evans Hankey and Tang Tan. Everyone is expected to join OpenAI with IO's 55-person team and report to Peter Welinder, vice president of OpenAI products. The company also received early support from Emerson Collective, an investment company founded by Laurene Powell Jobs.
Although I'm known for shaping Apple's minimalist design language (from iMac and iPad to iPhone), both he and Altman emphasize that their new project is more than just another sleek gadget. Instead, they aim to rethink the way we interact with technology. They say future devices will not be as clumsy as laptops, and on-screen devices will not be as good as smartphones. “The meaning of using technology may change in profound ways,” Altman said, adding that he hopes to “bring some of the joy, miracles and creative spirits that I first used Apple 30 years ago.”
Details about the device are still in the package. This is not Openai's first attempt at consumer hardware—the company previously integrated its model into Humane's $699 wearable machine, which ultimately failed to gain appeal. The startup closed its operations shortly after the product was launched.
Despite this, Ultraman is already passionate about what is about to happen. According to Openai's video, IVE recently gave him a prototype to test at home. “I think this is the coolest technology in the world,” Ultraman said.
