Google’s I/O may have grabbed the headlines, but Openai has got its own IO.
Openai announced Wednesday that it has acquired IVE’s AI hardware venture in a $6.5 billion all-selling share deal. The two spent the past two years quietly working together on a new class of AI-Native devices aimed at rethinking how humans interact with machines.
The acquisition comes amid growing speculation that AI is approaching its own “iPhone moment.” Openai makes it clear that it hopes to offer it.
“Two years ago, Jony Ive and creative collective love began quietly working with the team at Sam Altman and Openai. Collaboration based on friendship, curiosity and shared values quickly grew with ambition.
Openai and Ive’s IO reportedly have been working together closed rooms since 2022, and the product development is intended to have surpassed screens. The first device is expected to be released in 2026.
The contract will roll the entire IO team, including over 50 engineers and designers. Lovefrom continues as Openai’s creative partner, shaping the design language not only for hardware but for the entire product suite.
In the nine-minute video of the announcement, Sam Altman praised Ive as “the deepest thinker he’s ever met,” and Ive called Altman a “unusual foresight.” Altman also reveals that he is using a prototype, believing it may be “the coolest technology the world has ever seen.”
Why this transaction is important
This is not just a talent grab, it’s a signal. Openai is not satisfied with living in the clouds. Planting flags in physical technology.
This acquisition gives OpenAI full control over a hardware project that has been quietly incubated for two years. And when installed in the IVE, it has the same creative power that helps transform your iPhone and iPad into cultural icons.
According to Bloomberg, IO does not have products on the shelf yet, so the price tag bets on vision rather than the outcome. Reuters reports Openai is signed to play head-on with Apple, Google and Samsung.
This is Openai’s first real swing in Building Hardware, followed by a playbook that Apple is well-known to. I own a chip-to-screen experience. If successful, Openai can set standards for how humans physically interact with AI.
Ive returns to the spotlight
Ive’s fingerprints are throughout the project, and his track record speaks for itself. At Apple, he wanted elegance, simplicity and products that made sense. According to the New York Times, IO is exploring personal AI devices, possibly inspired by the film. She is a whispering assistant who lives with you, learns from you, and responds like a peer.
But converting it into a mass market device is not easy. The hardware is cruel. Slow, expensive, and merciless. And there is no concrete market yet, and the $6.5 billion price feels more like a bet than a victory.
Big ambitions, bigger risks
Critics are already frowning. CNBC points out that Openai is much more in the comfort zone. Building software to scale is one thing. Shipment of physical products is a separate matter. This requires factories, logistics, retail and support.
Skeptics argue that Openai could be paying more for Jony Ive’s name than the actual company. anxiety? This is not a groundbreaking product, but a prominent distraction.
What happens next?
The deal concludes the heat of the AI hardware race. Apple is working on its own AI-injected products. Google is already there with a pixel lineup. Now Openai is stepping into the arena in light of investor support and public interest.
The Guardian reports that the prototype will be displayed within the next 18-24 months. However, the hardware timeline often slips and no one has shown his hand yet.
Bigger question: Is Openai still a lab or is it becoming something like Apple?
Reuters summed it upright: Openai is “everything” about making the generated AI physical. But it only works if the hardware lands and sticks.
Below is a complete announcement from Sam Altman and Jony Ive of Openai.
“May 21, 2025
This is an extraordinary moment.
Computers now look, think, and understand.
Despite this unprecedented ability, our experience remains shaped by traditional products and interfaces.
Two years ago, Jony Ive and Creative Collective Lovemfrom began quietly working with the teams at Sam Altman and Openai.
Building on friendship, curiosity and shared values, collaboration quickly fell into ambition. The tentative ideas and exploration have evolved into concrete designs.
The idea seemed important and useful. They were optimistic and hopeful. They were inspiring. They all smiled. They reminded us of the times when we celebrated human achievements. We appreciate the new tools that help us learn, explore and create.
It has become clear that our ambitions to develop, design and manufacture new products families demand a whole new company. And a year ago, Johnny founded IO with Scott Cannon, Evans Hanky and Tan Tang.
We have gathered together the best hardware and software engineers, best engineers, physicists, scientists, researchers and experts in product development and manufacturing. Many of us have worked closely for decades.
The IO team focuses on developing products to inspire, empower and enable them to work closer together with San Francisco research, engineering and product teams.
When IO merges with Openai, Jony and Lovefrom envision deep design and creative responsibility across Openai and IO.
We probably couldn’t be more excited.
Sam and Johnny”
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