OpenAI in talks to acquire AI hardware startup, io Products

OpenAI is eyeing to acquire io Products, the AI hardware startup led by former Apple design head Jony Ive along with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The Microsoft-backed startup has offered to pay around $500 million to acquire io Products, according to a report. The fledgling startup has already managed to raise an undisclosed amount of funding from investors such as Laurene Powell Jobs’ Emerson Collective and others, as per the report.

However, reports also suggest that OpenAI may end up teaming up with io Products on making AI-based gadgets instead of acquiring the company. Jony Ive is known for his role in creating the first iPhone, which was launched in 2007. He quit the smartphone giant in 2019 to set up his own venture called LoveFrom.

Currently, io Products has a small team that includes former Apple designers Tang Tan and Evans Hankey.

Speaking to The New York Times, Ive said that he has been working with Sam Altman on a project that aims to develop a device that would enable users to interact with AI in a more natural and intuitive way. He had said that the goal of the project was to build AI-based products that are “less socially disruptive than the iPhone.”

While still in early stages io Products has reportedly been working on different concepts of AI-enabled devices, including smart home gadgets.