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39m ago

OpenAI Acquires Jony Ive's AI Hardware Startup io in $6.5 Billion Deal

The acquisition integrates Ive's design expertise and io's team into OpenAI, aiming to launch AI-powered consumer devices by 2026.

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Jony Ive (left) and Sam Altman are teaming up
Jony Ive speak onstage during Vox Media's 2022 Code Conference. (Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Vox Media)
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Overview

  • OpenAI has announced the $6.5 billion all-equity acquisition of io, a hardware startup co-founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive.
  • Jony Ive’s design firm, LoveFrom, will remain independent but assume creative leadership for OpenAI's hardware and software design initiatives.
  • The io team of 55 engineers, including former Apple veterans, will merge into OpenAI’s San Francisco research and product teams.
  • The first AI-native consumer hardware products from this collaboration are expected to launch in 2026, though specific details remain undisclosed.
  • The deal underscores OpenAI's strategic push into hardware, positioning it to compete with tech giants like Apple and Google in the AI-driven device market.