OpenAI Completes Acquisition of io Products, AI Hardware Design Firm Led by Jony Ive
AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication
OpenAI officially announced the completion of its acquisition of io Products, Inc., the AI hardware design firm founded by former Apple designer Jony Ive. In May, Sam Altman and Jony Ive released a video announcing their upcoming partnership, which was later removed due to a trademark challenge to Ive's company name "io". Despite this setback, the deal proceeded, with the final sale price reaching nearly $6.5 billion in stock. The Sam & Jony page on OpenAI has been updated to reflect the new partnership, stating: "We're thrilled to share that the io Products, Inc. team has officially merged with OpenAI. Jony Ive and LoveFrom remain independent and have assumed deep design and creative responsibilities across OpenAI." Jony Ive, who had a nearly three-decade tenure at Apple, departed the company in 2019 to found his own design company, LoveFrom. Since then, he has hired several ex-Apple staff, including his own replacement, Evans Hankey, and ex-Apple design lead Tang Tan, specifically to work on the AI startup collaboration with Sam Altman. Initially, it was reported that OpenAI would acquire Jony Ive's AI startup, "io", for $500 million. However, the actual sale price was significantly higher, at nearly $6.5 billion in stock. Ive and Altman believe that their partnership will change the way humans interface with technology, although the specifics of their plans are still unclear. Some speculate that the device they are working on may be a phone without a screen, but it is clear that it will be a voice assistant first and foremost. The acquisition marks a significant step forward for both OpenAI and io Products, and it will be interesting to see how their partnership evolves in the coming months.
