OpenAI acquires Jony Ive’s AI device startup for $6.5 billion

Google’s I/O may have grabbed headlines, but OpenAI just got an io of its own — the stealthy AI device startup co-founded by legendary Apple designer Jony Ive.

OpenAI announced Wednesday that it’s acquiring Ive’s AI hardware venture in a $6.5 billion all-stock deal. The two have spent the past two years quietly collaborating on a new class of AI-native devices to rethink how humans interact with machines.

The acquisition comes amid growing speculation that AI is approaching its own “iPhone moment” — and OpenAI is making it clear it wants to be the one to deliver it.

“Two years ago, Jony Ive and the creative collective LoveFrom, quietly began collaborating with Sam Altman and the team at OpenAI. A collaboration built upon friendship, curiosity and shared values quickly grew in ambition. Tentative ideas and explorations evolved into tangible designs,” Sam and Jony said in a statement.

OpenAI and Ive’s io have reportedly been working together behind closed doors since 2022, developing products meant to go beyond screens. The first device is expected to launch in 2026.

The deal rolls io’s entire team—including more than 50 engineers and designers, many of them former Apple employees—into OpenAI. LoveFrom will continue as OpenAI’s creative partner, shaping not just hardware but the design language of its entire product suite.

In a 9-minute announcement video, Sam Altman praised Ive as the “deepest thinker he’s ever met,” while Ive called Altman a “rare visionary.” Altman also revealed he’s been using a prototype and believes it may be “the coolest piece of technology the world will have ever seen.”

Why This Deal Matters

This isn’t just a talent grab—it’s a signal. OpenAI isn’t content with living in the cloud. It’s planting a flag in physical tech.

The acquisition gives OpenAI full control over a hardware project that’s been quietly incubating for two years. And with Ive onboard, it now has the same creative force that helped turn the iPhone and iPad into cultural icons.

According to Bloomberg, io doesn’t have a product on shelves yet, which makes the price tag more of a bet on vision than results. Reuters reports the deal positions OpenAI to go head-to-head with Apple, Google, and Samsung, all of whom are pushing AI deeper into consumer devices.

This is OpenAI’s first real swing at building hardware, and it follows a playbook Apple knows well: own the experience from chip to screen. If successful, OpenAI could set the standard for how humans physically interact with AI.

Ive’s Return to the Spotlight

Ive’s fingerprints are all over this project, and his track record speaks for itself. At Apple, he pushed for elegance, simplicity, and products that just made sense. The New York Times says io has been exploring a personal AI device, possibly inspired by the film Her—a whisper-quiet assistant that lives with you, learns from you, and responds like a companion.

But translating that into a mass-market device won’t be easy. Hardware is brutal. It’s slow, expensive, and unforgiving. And without anything tangible in-market yet, the $6.5 billion price feels more like a wager than a win.

Big Ambitions, Bigger Risks

Critics are already raising eyebrows. CNBC notes that OpenAI is stepping far outside its comfort zone. It’s one thing to build software that scales; it’s another to ship physical products. That requires factories, logistics, retail, and support—things Apple has spent decades perfecting.

Skeptics argue that OpenAI may be paying more for the Jony Ive name than for a real company. The worry? This turns into a high-profile distraction instead of a breakthrough product.

What Happens Next?

This deal cranks up the heat in the AI hardware race. Apple is working on its own AI-infused products. Google is already there with its Pixel lineup. Now OpenAI, flush with investor support and public interest, is stepping into the arena.

The Guardian reports that we may see prototypes within the next 18 to 24 months. But timelines in hardware often slip, and no one’s shown their hand just yet.

The bigger question: Is OpenAI still a research lab, or is it becoming something more like Apple—a full-stack tech company that builds what it dreams?

Reuters summed it up bluntly: OpenAI is “all in” on making generative AI physical. But that only works if the hardware lands—and sticks.

Below is the full announcement from OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Jony Ive:

“May 21, 2025

This is an extraordinary moment.

Computers are now seeing, thinking and understanding.

Despite this unprecedented capability, our experience remains shaped by traditional products and interfaces.

Two years ago, Jony Ive and the creative collective LoveFrom, quietly began collaborating with Sam Altman and the team at OpenAI.

A collaboration built upon friendship, curiosity and shared values quickly grew in ambition. Tentative ideas and explorations evolved into tangible designs.

The ideas seemed important and useful. They were optimistic and hopeful. They were inspiring. They made everyone smile. They reminded us of a time when we celebrated human achievement, grateful for new tools that helped us learn, explore and create.

It became clear that our ambitions to develop, engineer and manufacture a new family of products demanded an entirely new company. And so, one year ago, Jony founded io with Scott Cannon, Evans Hankey and Tang Tan.

We gathered together the best hardware and software engineers, the best technologists, physicists, scientists, researchers and experts in product development and manufacturing. Many of us have worked closely for decades.

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.

As io merges with OpenAI, Jony and LoveFrom will assume deep design and creative responsibilities across OpenAI and io.

We could not possibly be more excited.

Sam & Jony”