OpenAI to acquire Apple veteran designer Jony Ive’s startup io in $6.5 billion deal to create AI devices

OpenAI has announced it will acquire io, the AI hardware startup co-founded by legendary Apple designer Jony Ive, in an all-stock deal valued at nearly $6.5 billion. This marks OpenAI’s bold entry into the hardware space.

The acquisition brings Jony Ive — the visionary behind Apple’s iconic products like the iPhone, iMac, and iPad — along with a team of former Apple designers, into OpenAI. Together, they will spearhead the development of a new class of AI-native devices under a dedicated product unit at OpenAI.