🤯OpenAI's Secret AI Device Leaked

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• OpenAI acquires startup io to build AI hardware—Jony Ive leads design on a new screenless device debuting in 2026

• Don’t miss this week’s Workflow Wednesday—future-proofing with AI using HubSpot, Google Gemini, and GPT-4 + GitHub + Make for workflows that last; now available at only $20/month! 

• In other AI news—Chatbot Arena raises $100M, now valued at $600M, Amazon introduces AI voiceovers for product highlights, News publishers accuse Google’s AI Mode of content theft, Meta launches support program for startups using Llama AI models

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OpenAI acquires startup io to build a screenless AI device with Apple’s design legend

Key Points 

• OpenAI is acquiring io, a startup co-founded by Sam Altman and Jony Ive, in a $6.5B equity deal.

• The first device will be compact, screenless, and fully aware of its surroundings, launching as early as 2026.

• Jony Ive’s firm LoveFrom will lead OpenAI’s design, potentially positioning the company as a rival to Apple.

♨️News - OpenAI is officially acquiring io, a secretive device startup co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and legendary Apple designer Jony Ive, in an all-equity deal that values the company at $6.5 billion. The announcement, made Wednesday, marks a major leap for OpenAI into the world of consumer hardware.

As part of the deal, Jony Ive and his design firm LoveFrom will now lead OpenAI’s creative and design efforts. Despite the partnership, LoveFrom will continue to operate independently, and Ive will retain full control of it.

Altman called the collaboration “thrilling” in a post on X, saying he’s excited to “create a new generation of AI-powered computers” and referred to Ive as “the greatest designer in the world.”

🤓Why this matters - Jony Ive, best known for shaping Apple’s most iconic devices including the iPhone and Apple Watch, is now at the forefront of generative AI. His involvement could give OpenAI a serious edge in hardware design and position it as a direct challenger to Apple.

The io team, which includes around 55 engineers, scientists, and product specialists, will all be joining OpenAI. Several of them are former Apple designers, such as Scott Cannon, Evans Hankey, and Tang Tan, who helped bring Apple’s most beloved products to life.

🤔What kind of AI devices are they creating? The mission of io under OpenAI is to develop a family of AI-powered consumer devices. Altman and Ive have reportedly spent the past two years working on hardware that moves people “beyond screens.” The first of these devices is expected to launch in 2026.

In a video released by OpenAI, Altman explained that using ChatGPT on a laptop or phone felt clunky, and that a more seamless, integrated device was the goal. Ive said that everything he’s learned “over the last 30 years has led me to this place and this moment,” and that the project has “completely captured” his imagination. 

🧐What exactly is in the works? Despite speculation, the first product won’t be a wearable. According to reports, Altman told employees that it will be a small, screenless device that’s fully aware of its surroundings, something that could sit on a desk or fit in a pocket. He described it as a “third core device” alongside the iPhone and MacBook Pro, and a true “AI companion.” Read more about it here. 

OpenAI’s vision for io has been compared to the futuristic technology seen in the movie Her. Altman reportedly told staff that this acquisition could eventually add $1 trillion in market value to OpenAI by unlocking an entirely new category of personal technology.

Read the full story here. 

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