OpenAI buys ex-Apple designer Jony Ive’s io for $6.4 bn in AI expansion

OpenAI has acquired the hardware start-up io, founded by former Apple design chief Sir Jony Ive, in a $6.4 billion all-equity deal, according to the Financial Times. The move is part of OpenAI’s push to move beyond smartphones and build new devices that are optimised for the AI-first world.

Having already held a 23 per cent stake in the company, OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, paid $5 billion in equity to acquire the remaining 77 per cent.