OpenAI has completed its largest acquisition to date by purchasing io, a company founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive. The deal is valued at $6.5 billion and is paid entirely in stock. As part of the acquisition, around 55 specialists in hardware, software, and manufacturing will join OpenAI. This includes io co-founders Scott Cannon, Evans Hankey, and Tang Tan.
Although Jony Ive himself will not join OpenAI, his design firm LoveFrom will remain independent and continue to work closely with OpenAI. LoveFrom will design all OpenAI products, including user interfaces. The io division within OpenAI will be responsible for developing a new family of AI-powered devices in what is described as a “completely new format.” According to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, “AI is such a disruptive tool in the breadth of tasks it can perform that it needs a new form factor.”
Ive has been critical of current AI-focused devices like the Humane Pin and Rabbit R1, calling them “really bad products” and highlighting their lack of innovation in both form and function. However, he expressed genuine excitement about the new collaboration with OpenAI, saying, “I feel like everything I’ve learned over the last 30 years has led me to this moment.”
A New Product, Not a Smartphone Replacement
Details about the upcoming device are still under wraps. However, Bloomberg reports that Altman and Ive are aiming for something revolutionary—comparable in impact to the first iPhone but centered around AI. Their first jointly developed product is expected to launch in 2026.
Despite the high expectations, Altman clarified that the goal isn’t to create a smartphone “killer,” notes NIXSolutions. He explained, “The smartphone did not replace the laptop, and our device will not replace the smartphone. It’s just something completely new.”
According to The Wall Street Journal, OpenAI and LoveFrom have already been working together for two years, exploring a range of concepts including headphones and camera-based devices. Altman has even tested a prototype, sharing, “Jony gave me one of the samples, and I was able to use it at home. I think it’s the most impressive technology the world will ever see.”
The collaboration hints at a significant step forward in how AI could be integrated into future consumer technology—we’ll keep you updated as more information becomes available.