OpenAI has announced a $6.5 billion deal to acquire IO, a start-up founded by Jony Ive, the designer of the iPhone, in an effort to create a new era of artificial intelligence hardware. The acquisition is intended to usher in a “new family of products” for the age of artificial general intelligence (A.G.I.), which aims to achieve human-level intelligence.
Jony Ive, 58, expressed his desire to use AI to “elevate humanity,” while OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman said the goal is to create devices that can process the world in real time, fielding questions and analyzing images and sounds seamlessly. The deal marks a significant investment by OpenAI, which has been struggling to adopt a new corporate structure.
The acquisition brings in Mr. Ive and his team of 55 engineers and researchers, who will assume creative and design responsibilities across OpenAI. LoveFrom, Mr. Ive’s design studio, will remain independent but work on projects separate from OpenAI. The deal is subject to regulatory approval, following an existing agreement between the two companies at the end of last year.
The partnership between OpenAI and Jony Ive aims to build products that “benefit humanity,” rather than driven by a fiscal imperative. Mr. Altman said he wants to bring people something beyond the legacy products they’ve been using for so long, sparking hopes of what is known as “ambient computing” – devices like pendants or glasses that use AI to process information seamlessly.
The deal comes after OpenAI released its ChatGPT chatbot in late 2022 and raised $40 billion in funding last month. Despite its growth, the company has struggled with adopting a new corporate structure, which could impact its ability to raise more money from investors if it does not restructure by the end of the year.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/21/technology/openai-jony-ive-deal.html