OpenAI Buys io, Reveals Ambitious AI Hardware Plans

OpenAI has acquired io, an AI hardware startup co-founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive, in a $6.5 billion deal that brings together Ive's design team and OpenAI's AI expertise. The partnership aims to develop a new generation of AI-powered hardware devices, with ambitions to challenge established products like the iPhone through more intuitive, possibly screenless interfaces. Jony Ive and his collective, LoveFrom, will remain independent but take creative and design leadership roles at both OpenAI and io. Over 55 former Apple engineers, including key iPhone and Apple Watch contributors, are joining the project, with the first device expected by 2026. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has described their forthcoming prototype as 'the coolest piece of technology the world will have ever seen.' The announcement led to a drop in Apple's shares, highlighting the potential for major disruption in the tech hardware sector.