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OpenAI Explores $500M Deal for Jony Ive’s AI Hardware Startup

The potential acquisition of io Products signals OpenAI's strategic move into AI-powered consumer devices, aiming to rival Apple in the evolving tech market.

BEVERLY HILLS, CA - SEPTEMBER 08: Apple Sr VP of industrial design Sir Jonathan "Jony" Ive attends the launch party for TASCHEN's "Marc Newson Works" at TASCHEN on September 8, 2012 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)
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Here’s how iO Products, an AI hardware company, plans to replace iPhones.
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Overview

  • OpenAI is reportedly in talks to acquire or partner with io Products, a startup co-founded by Jony Ive and Sam Altman, for at least $500 million.
  • The startup is developing AI-powered devices, including a conceptual design for a screenless device described as 'not a phone,' though its exact functionality remains unclear.
  • io Products is in the early design stages, with no finalized product concepts, and is funded by Jony Ive and Laurene Powell Jobs’ Emerson Collective.
  • If the deal proceeds, OpenAI would integrate its AI technology with io Products’ hardware expertise and design team, including former Apple designers Tang Tan and Evans Hankey.
  • This venture marks OpenAI's expansion into hardware, positioning it as a direct competitor to Apple, building on prior collaborations like ChatGPT integration with Siri.