The man who played a crucial role in Apple becoming the world’s most valuable company will now bring his magic touch to OpenAI and propel it to the same position.
On Wednesday, Sam Altman’s company said it was acquiring io, a startup formed by Jony Ive, Apple’s former designer of nearly all its product range. In one fell swoop that would cost OpenAI US$6.5 billion, it has acquired the genius of Ive and his team of 55 engineers, scientists, researchers, physicists and product development specialists.
The acquisition is the largest in OpenAI’s history. The deal is expected to be completed this summer, pending regulatory approvals.
Together, they aim to create new products that unlock the greater benefits of AI, rather than being bound by the traditional screens of computers and smartphones.
In an interview, Altman commented: “AI is an incredible technology, but great tools require work at the intersection of technology, design, and understanding people and the world. No one can do this like Jony and his team; the amount of care they put into every aspect of the process is extraordinary.
“What it means to use technology can change in a profound way. I hope we can bring some of the delight, wonder and creative spirit that I first felt using an Apple Computer 30 years ago.”
Ive had worked with Steve Jobs in the design of iPhones. He left Apple in 2019 as their head of design, where he was considered the right-hand man of Tim Cook as the company unleashed one magnificent design after another. He then formed his own venture, LoveFrom, and collaborated with businesses like Ferrari (designing their first electric vehicle, which is expected to hit the roads next year), Airbnb and the fashion industry.
Ive and his team have been working with Altman and OpenAI for the past two years, and he founded io last year to design and develop a new family of AI-powered products.
OpenAI acquired a 23 per cent stake in io last year, and its startup fund also invested at the time.
New era for OpenAI
In a joint blog, Altman and Ive said: “Computers are now seeing, thinking and understanding. Despite this unprecedented capability, our experience remains shaped by traditional products and interfaces.
“Two years ago, Jony Ive and the creative collective LoveFrom, quietly began collaborating with Sam Altman and the team at OpenAI.
“It became clear that our ambitions to develop, engineer and manufacture a new family of products demanded an entirely new company. And so, one year ago, Jony founded io with Scott Cannon, Evans Hankey and Tang Tan (all Apple alumni).
“We gathered together the best hardware and software engineers, the best technologists, physicists, scientists, researchers and experts in product development and manufacturing. Many of us have worked closely for decades.
“The io team, focused on developing products that inspire, empower and enable, will now merge with OpenAI to work more intimately with the research, engineering and product teams in San Francisco. As io merges with OpenAI, Jony and LoveFrom will assume deep design and creative responsibilities across OpenAI and io.”
Ive added: “I have felt that my most important and useful work is ahead.”
The move by OpenAI is being viewed as a step toward their ambition to become a more consumer-centric company, moving beyond just integrating AI applications through other companies’ products and introduce patented mass-market products.
OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is now valued at roughly US$300 billion.
