Famed iPhone designer Jony Ive is joining OpenAI after his artificial intelligence hardware startup was acquired by the ChatGPT maker in an all-stock deal valued at nearly $6.5 billion, the company announced on Wednesday.
OpenAI’s acquisition of Ive’s firm, called io, is the largest in the Sam Altman-led company’s history. Ive is best known for closely collaborating with Apple’s Steve Jobs to develop the company’s most famous products.
Ive, who left Apple in 2019, will “assume deep design and creative responsibilities across OpenAI and io” as part of the deal, according to a press release.
The partnership could put OpenAI in direct competition with Apple, which is still reliant on iPhone sales for the bulk of its revenue.
San Francisco-based io had already poached a pair of key ex-Apple executives, Tang Tan, who led the teams responsible for iPhone design and Apple Watch, and Evans Hankey, who took over from Ive as Apple’s top designer before leaving in 2023. Both will join Ive at OpenAI.
“I have a growing sense that everything I have learned over the last 30 years has led me to this moment,” Ive said in a statement. “While I am both anxious and excited about the responsibility of the substantial work ahead, I am so grateful for the opportunity to be part of such an important collaboration.”
Apple shares were down more than 2% in trading Wednesday, with losses accelerating after news of the collaboration surfaced.
OpenAI will pay $5 billion in stock as part of the transaction. Altman’s firm already held a stake in io prior to the takeover. The deal is expected to close this summer pending regulatory approval.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Ive and Altman said their first product is expected to debut in 2026. A total of 55 employees, including software developers and hardware engineers, will work for OpenAI under the io umbrella.
“AI is an incredible technology, but great tools require work at the intersection of technology, design, and understanding people and the world,” Altman said in a statement. “No one can do this like Jony and his team; the amount of care they put into every aspect of the process is extraordinary.”
Prior to the deal, Altman and Ive were already collaborating on development of an AI-centric device since 2023 – though reports have differed on whether the device is best described as a smartphone, a tablet or an entirely new format.
OpenAI recently secured a $300 billion valuation and is locked in heated competition with the likes of Google, Elon Musk’s xAI and others to stay ahead in the race to develop advanced AI.
Last month, The Information reported that OpenAI had discussed a potential “full acquisition” of Ive’s firm.
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