Sam Altman aims to ship 100 million AI devices with Jony Ive-led OpenAI design

Sam Altman’s OpenAI has made a bold move by acquiring io, the AI device startup co-founded by Jony Ive, in a $6.5 billion all-stock deal.

Ive, renowned for his iconic Apple designs including the iPhone, iMac, and Apple Watch, will take on deep creative and design responsibilities at OpenAI while continuing to lead his design studio, LoveFrom.

"The goal? To develop AI-native devices that rethink human interaction with technology—potentially moving beyond traditional screens," the company stated. This marks OpenAI’s direct challenge to tech giants Apple and Google in the AI hardware space.

OpenAI aims to ship 100 million devices "faster than any company has ever shipped 100 million of something new before," according to reports. The first device is expected to be small, screenless, and context-aware, leveraging ChatGPT’s multimodal capabilities including voice and image recognition.

Technology analyst Ming-Chi Kuo described the prototype as "slightly larger than Humane’s discontinued device, with a form factor as compact and elegant as an iPod Shuffle."

This acquisition consolidates OpenAI’s previous 23% stake in io, with the remaining $5 billion paid in equity, signaling a major investment in AI hardware innovation.

Ive’s legacy at Apple, where he led design for revolutionary products and the Apple Park headquarters, positions him uniquely to drive OpenAI’s vision of AI-native devices that could redefine user interaction and disrupt existing consumer technology markets.

Sam Altman’s OpenAI, backed by a $6.5 billion acquisition of Jony Ive’s AI device startup io, aims to ship 100 million AI-native devices. Ive, famed for Apple designs, will lead creative efforts to develop screenless, context-aware products that could disrupt Apple and Google’s consumer tech dominance.