The partnership marks a new chapter for OpenAI as it moves beyond software to develop its own hardware products built specifically to harness generative AI. Ive, who is best known for leading the design of the iPhone, iMac, and MacBook during his time at Apple, is now tasked with rethinking what computers can look and feel like in the age of artificial intelligence. Ive left Apple in 2019.
Two years ago, the collaboration between Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman began as a quiet partnership built on “friendship, curiosity, and shared values,” according to a joint blog post by the two. That informal collaboration evolved into full product development work, eventually leading to the formation of io one year ago.
Ive co-founded io alongside engineers Scott Cannon, Evans Hankey, and Tang Tan to design and build a new family of devices. Now, that team will merge into OpenAI, working closely with its research and product development teams in San Francisco.
The deal to acquire io is valued at $6.5 billion in stock, based on OpenAI’s internal valuation of $300 billion. The company previously owned a 23 percent stake in io.
OpenAI did not release any financial details in its announcement, but emphasized that the merger reflects a broader effort to create tools that are not only intelligent but also intuitive and human-centered.
In a statement, Ive said, “I have a growing sense that everything I have learned over the last 30 years has led me to this moment,” calling the collaboration with OpenAI “a rare inspiration.”
Altman echoed that sentiment, saying: “Great tools require work at the intersection of technology, design, and understanding people and the world. No one can do this like Jony and his team.”
While no details have been released about the new product line, Altman said he recently began using one of the first prototypes and described it as “the coolest piece of technology the world will have ever seen.”
OpenAI is aiming to develop hardware that allows the use of AI in more natural, integrated ways—an approach similar to efforts by other companies, such as Meta and Rabbit, to create AI-native devices.
With the merger now complete, OpenAI and Ive say they are focused on designing tools that feel magical yet are deeply grounded in human needs.
“We are literally on the brink of a new generation of technology that can make us our better selves,” Altman said.
