Renowned tech designer Jony Ive and OpenAI boss Sam Altman have reportedly tapped a key Apple executive to lead their secretive efforts to build new gadgets focused on artificial intelligence.
Tang Tan, who served as Apple’s vice president of product design, will leave the company in February and join Ive’s design firm LoveFrom, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Tan had led the teams responsible for designing the iPhone and Apple Watch.
Tan will “shape the look and capabilities of the new products,” while Altman will provide the software that powers them, the report said. The extent of OpenAI’s involvement in the project was not immediately clear.
Few specific details about the AI-centered gadgets have emerged, though development is said to be in its early stages.
Ive, who is best known for working closely with the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs on some of the company’s most iconic product designs, is reportedly in the process of building out a staff and creating early concepts for the AI device initiative. Ive created LoveFrom in 2019 after leaving Apple.
Tan’s departure marks another major talent loss for Apple, which has seen more than a dozen design staffers follow Ive out the door in the last few years, according to the report.
Representatives for Apple and OpenAI did not immediately return requests for comment.
The collaboration would mark another high-profile project for Altman, who returned as OpenAI’s CEO last month after the firm’s previous board of directors briefly ousted him.
The company, which is best known for creating ChatGPT, has since installed a revamped board, while all but one of the previous directors have resigned.
The exact reasons for Altman’s firing have yet to emerge.
However, Bloomberg noted that the AI wunderkind had annoyed the board by raising money for other outside initiatives, including his work with Ive’s design firm.
Under Altman’s leadership, OpenAI has emerged as a frontrunner in the race to develop advanced AI.
Last month, Altman revealed that ChatGPT had more than 100 million weekly active users just one year after its debut.
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