OpenAI Buys iPhone Designer Jony Ive's Company to 'Overcome Traditional Screens'

OpenAI is reportedly about to absorb the creative laboratory led by Jony Ive, purchasing his IO Products, for about 6.5 billion dollars. Ive, who worked alongside Steve Jobs for a long time, is famous for having shaped the aesthetics of the iPhone and the most iconic Apple products until 2019, will assume overall responsibility for the design of future devices and user interfaces related to artificial intelligence of OpenAI.

Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman have been secretly collaborating on a project to go beyond traditional screens. Ideas that have emerged include advanced headphones with integrated cameras and other wearable accessories that can merge the physical world and digital interfaces. As these technologies are refined, the goal is to provide a more intuitive and immersive AI experience, reducing the distance between humans and “thinking machines.”

In addition to his direct involvement with future gadgets, Ive will also oversee the aesthetics of upcoming versions of ChatGPT, audio features, and OpenAI mobile apps. This expansion of his creative role demonstrates the company’s desire to combine functional excellence with elegant design, two elements considered essential to accelerate the mass adoption of AI solutions.

Born in London, Jony Ive left Apple in 2019 to create LoveFrom and his second company, “io”, dedicated precisely to the development of intelligent products. It will therefore be the latter — conceived to create devices equipped with artificial intelligence — to pass under the control of OpenAI thanks to the maxi-investment of 6.5 billion. An operation that promises to redefine the concept of interaction between user and technology.