OpenAI Acquires Jony Ive’s Startup—A New Generation of Tech Awaits

Google isn’t the only one with big AI-related news to spill. OpenAI is set to buy Jony Ive’s startup io for $6.5 million, betting big on Ive’s involvement with the company. Jony Ive is credited as one of the big brains behind the iPhone, a visionary in his own right. The designer has reportedly worked in collaboration with OpenAI for the last two years, and while the nature of the secret project is unknown, it’s clear the collaboration is evolving.

OpenAI’s buyout of Jony Ive’s business comes with the news that the designer will now work on the AI company’s many projects, improving the already-popular services with insights of his own. Ive and his creative design firm LoveFrom will remain independent, but will work on all of OpenAI and io’s future projects.

OpenAI Buys Jony Ive’s AI Device Startup io—Are We Set For a New Era of AI Devices?

Since its inception, OpenAI has primarily functioned as a software business, investing in AI LLMs and resulting services for its users. ChatGPT has pioneered the way for generative AI, bringing global attention to the potential of AI and advancing its capabilities by leaps and bounds. Of course there have been other businesses working on artificial intelligence long before Altman, Musk, and a team of collaborators brought OpenAI into the picture, but the company has paved the road for consumer adoption.

Now set to make its way into hardware, OpenAI has decided to buy Jony Ive’s io startup for around $6.4 billion through an all equity deal. The company already owns 23% of the company and will pay $5 billion to close the deal. This isn’t OpenAI’s first acquisition this year—it recently agreed to buy Windsurf for $3 billion—but it is reportedly the company’s largest acquisition so far.

thrilled to be partnering with jony, imo the greatest designer in the world.

excited to try to create a new generation of AI-powered computers. pic.twitter.com/IPZBNrz1jQ

– Sam Altman (@sama) May 21, 2025

The AI hardware company io was founded by Jony Ive over a year ago with support from Scott Cannon, Evans Hankey and Tang Tan, all of whom previously worked at Apple. The team has since built up its force with talented engineers, scientists, and other technical experts. The startup doesn’t have any released hardware that we know of, but it’s likely that we’ll see a few ChatGPT-powered devices debut in the coming years.

What will OpenAI’s Jony Ive Acquisition Mean for the Business?

Jony Ive’s expertise on device design is expected to be utilized completely to change the path that OpenAI is currently on. Ive is known for designing some of the most iconic Apple products available including the iPod, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watches, and the MacBook Air. Having created such strong products in the past, there’s no doubt that he has a vision for what he can achieve with Sam Altman and OpenAI.

With his design firm in tow, Ive will take over creative control at OpenAI, developing physical products for users to purchase. Reportedly, this could include gadgets like headphones and devices with cameras, but we have no confirmed evidence of this yet.

“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.”
—a joint statement from Sam Altman and Jony Ive

Apple has struggled to keep up with the AI industry despite the launch of its internal AI tool, Apple Intelligence. So far, the application of its AI has not satisfied consumers, and the big Siri AI upgrade promised last year is nowhere to be seen. With Ive at its side, OpenAI could use his insight into Apple’s success with hardware and eventually release products to easily rival the iPhone maker.

As Jony Ive joins OpenAI, This Isn’t the Company’s First Investment in Hardware

OpenAI’s acquisition of Jony Ive’s startup and its investment in his capabilities is big news right now, but it’s important to acknowledge this doesn’t come out of the blue. The extended collaboration between the two shows that they likely already have products in the works. OpenAI also hired Caitlin “CK” Kalinowski for its consumer hardware projects last year. Kalinowski was the former head of Meta’s Orion augmented reality glasses, and could greatly help in spearheading efforts to bring in more hardware.

“In my new role, I will initially focus on OpenAI’s robotics work and partnerships to help bring AI into the physical world and unlock its benefits for humanity.”

—Caitlin Kalinowski the Christe is LinkedIn

OpenAI has also made investments in Physical Intelligence, a robotics-based startup in San Francisco that’s working on creating hardware for AI.

Is the Market Ready for AI Hardware?

OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Jony Ive are clearly excited for the future of AI-powered gadgets and devices, but we also have to wonder if we are collectively ready to put AI technology to use the way that tech giants envision. We’ve seen the monumental failure of hardware like the Humane AI Pin, and even other gadgets like the Rabbit R1 device of the Friend AI pendant have largely faded from the public eye after the initial excitement surrounding them.

Users are still getting used to seeing AI on their smartphones and laptops, and most consumers appear largely averse to using these features, even if GenAI services are thriving online. Still, presented with a fully-functional device with real-world applications, more users might grow comfortable with the idea of AI hardware.

In 2025, robotics companies are currently setting the standard for such use of AI. Amazon’s warehouses are being staffed by more and more robots, and there are other such projects on robotics under development. Multitasking robots are being showcased more frequently at tech conventions, highlighting the benefits of equipping our homes with AI devices.

“We look forward to sharing our work next year.”

What’s Next for OpenAI and Jony Ive?

We’re curious to see just what type of products this collaboration brings. While they mention a “family of products” and a “new generation of technology,” there is no hint of what this means. The two reference a prototype device in the video attached to the announcement, but again refuse to expand on what they are referring to. If the collaboration between OpenAI and Jony Ive turns up devices that have a clear function and fit the needs of the public, we could see a new catalogue of artificial intelligence gadgets make their way into our lives in the coming years.

The focus on hardware makes sense for OpenAI, considering the growing conversation around smart glasses or other headsets that can scan the environment and provide users with data on its observations. Google and Samsung’s Project Moohan Android XR headsets are getting closer and closer to a release date, and could revolutionize the smart technology available to us. OpenAI hasn’t capitalized on any hardware yet, but this looks like the perfect time to get started.

The cinematic video released with the announcement may look more like the movie trailer for a new, gripping biopic release, but that appears to be the level of fanfare expected around this news. We’re only hoping it’s not the trailer for a movie where everything quickly goes wrong. Altman and Ive appear to have a clear vision for how technology needs to evolve next, but we’ll see how this plays out when they finally release a product. From the video, we get the sense this could happen as early as next year.

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