OpenAI acquires hardware start-up from Jony Ive for $6.5bn

Designer of iconic Apple products joins ChatGPT developer

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OpenAI has announced its acquisition of former Apple designer Jony Ive’s hardware startup io Products in an equity deal worth $6.5 billion. As part of the deal, Ive will join OpenAI as creative head, aiming to develop innovative devices geared for the era of generative artificial intelligence.

The acquisition marks a strategic move for OpenAI to create its own hardware platform separate from existing ecosystems such as Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android.

With the expertise of Ive, known for iconic designs such as the iPhone, iPad and iMac, OpenAI aims to combine the technology behind its popular ChatGPT chatbot with “groundbreaking product design”.

Ive’s design firm, LoveFrom, had been working with OpenAI for the past two years. While specific details about future devices have not yet been released, Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman have indicated that a prototype is in development that will be “the coolest piece of technology the world has ever seen”.

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