OpenAI is making a major push into hardware, teaming up with one of Apple’s most renowned design figures. The AI powerhouse is acquiring io, a stealthy startup created by former Apple design chief Jony Ive, alongside fellow ex-Apple executives Scott Cannon, Evans Hankey, and Tang Tan. Valued at approximately $6.5 billion, the acquisition will bring around 55 engineers and developers into the OpenAI fold, with the initial hardware products anticipated to launch in 2026.
In a joint statement published on OpenAI’s website Wednesday, Jony Ive and Sam Altman explained that their shared vision to design, build, and produce a new generation of devices required the creation of a completely separate company.
“The io team, focused on developing products that inspire, empower and enable, will now merge with OpenAI to work more intimately with the research, engineering and product teams in San Francisco,” Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman co-authored a blog post on Wednesday.
According to the announcement, he has been partnering with OpenAI for the past two years. As reported by The Times in September, he has been involved in developing a product alongside OpenAI that leverages artificial intelligence to offer a computing experience designed to be less socially intrusive than the iPhone.
Ive was instrumental in shaping the design of Apple’s major products, including the iPhone, iMac, and even the Apple Park campus. After his departure from Apple in 2019, Jony Ive established LoveFrom, an elite design consultancy that has secured high-profile clients such as Airbnb, Christie’s, and Ferrari. According to The New York Times, some of these companies reportedly pay up to $200 million per year for the firm’s expertise.
Widely recognized for crafting Apple’s signature minimalist look, Ive is also credited with helping to turn the company around in the late 1990s. Upon his departure, Apple CEO Tim Cook remarked in a press release that Ive’s contribution to the company’s resurgence was immeasurable.