Sam Altman bets $6.4 billion on iPhone designer and his mystery AI object

Thanks to his partnership with Jony Ive, the founder of ChatGPT will launch an alternative to smartphones for artificial intelligence. By selling his startup to him for a record sum, the long-time Apple developer is committed to helping OpenAI produce 100 million “AI companions,” according to the international press.

Jony Ive and Sam Altman appear as partners on May 21, 2025. © OpenAI

OpenAi is making a $6.4 billion (€5.7 billion) “gamble” to secure the advice of former Apple star designer Jony Ive. By acquiring io, a startup founded less than a year ago, Sam Altman is banking on “alternatives to smartphones as the dominant devices for accessing artificial intelligence,” explains the Financial Times .

ChatGPT's founder already held a 23% stake in the company and will have to pay "$5 billion to take full control of io." His 55 employees will join OpenAI, the British business daily adds.

Jony Ive, for his part, is expected to be “given a significant design and creative role” in OpenAI, while remaining independent, adds The Wall Street Journal . On Wednesday, May 21, Sam Altman explained the “luck” his teams had to be part of “the largest project ever undertaken” by OpenAI and “its plans to deliver 100 million AI ‘companions’ that will be part of everyday life, e