OpenAI Bets Big on Hardware, Acquires Jony Ive-Linked Firm in Multi-Billion Dollar Deal

By Yogesh Brar • Updated On 22 May 2025

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TL; DR

OpenAI acquires Jony Ive-linked io; LoveFrom will design all OpenAI products.
First device in 2026: pocket-sized, screen-free, context-aware, a “new kind of thing.”
OpenAI plans a device family, predicting record sales and massive value growth

OpenAI, a leader in artificial intelligence, is venturing into hardware by acquiring io, a startup co-founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive. While Ive won’t join OpenAI, his firm, LoveFrom, will now lead design for all OpenAI products, including software, in a deal reportedly near $6.5 billion.

As part of this deal, around 55 hardware and software experts from io, including former Apple engineers Scott Cannon, Evans Hankey, and Tang Tan, will join OpenAI.

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The first devices from this collaboration are slated for a 2026 launch. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman described the initial product not as an “iPhone killer,” but as “a totally new kind of thing.” Leaked details suggest this mysterious device will be pocket-sized, contextually aware, screen-free, and distinct from smart glasses. Altman and LoveFrom have reportedly been exploring concepts for two years.

Altman envisions a “family of devices” and believes the hardware venture could significantly boost OpenAI’s value. He also boldly predicts the first device will ship “faster than any company has ever shipped 100 million of something new before,” in a leaked internal company call.

ALSO SEE: Apple Announces the Schedule for World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) 2025

We have by now seen plenty of AI centered prodcuts including the Humane AI Pin and the Rabbit R1. None of the two have been able to make it to mass adoption. Given that OpenAI is going all out on this project signals their commitment to pivot from just an AI services provider to a more mainstream role.

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Yogesh Brar

Exploring the depths of the Data world by day and journaling about tech by night. Often quoted by international publications like The Verge, GSMArena, India Today, and NDTV Gadgets360 for the latest stories on consumer tech. Living and breathing on the Internet.

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