OpenAI has announced a major strategic move to accelerate its expansion into hardware, with the acquisition of io, the San Francisco-based tech start-up founded by Sir Jony Ive, the former chief design officer at Apple.
The merger, valued at $6.5 billion (£4.8 billion), will bring together Ive’s team of engineers, product developers and designers under the OpenAI umbrella.
The deal marks a significant turning point in OpenAI’s ambitions beyond software and chatbots, as it looks to develop next-generation AI-powered consumer hardware that could redefine the way users interact with technology.
Founded by Sam Altman, Elon Musk, and others in 2015, OpenAI gained global attention following the release of ChatGPT in 2022, triggering a wave of interest and investment in generative AI. With the integration of Ive’s design-focused start-up, OpenAI is now positioning itself to tackle the hardware frontier, blending its cutting-edge AI models with world-class product design.
Ive, 58, who famously led the design of the iMac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, co-founded io last year after a longstanding collaboration with Altman through his design firm LoveFrom. He described the merger as the culmination of decades of creative experience.
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