Jony Ive's Latest Project Could Be an AI 'Phone' Without a Screen

OpenAI is considering acquiring the AI hardware startup founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, according to a new report from The Information. The deal could be worth at least $500 million.

jony ive ipad pro
The venture, known as "io Products," is developing AI-powered devices that could include a "phone" without a screen and other AI-enabled household products, according to people will direct knowledge of the talks. That's despite people close to the project apparently insisting it is "not a phone."

Ive and Altman began their collaboration more than a year ago, focusing on creating voice-enabled AI assistants. The project is still in the early design stages, with no finalized product concepts yet.

The venture is being funded by Ive and Laurene Powell Jobs' Emerson Collective. The startup currently employs a small team that includes former Apple designers Tang Tan and Evans Hankey, who previously worked with Ive on the iPhone.

Instead of a full acquisition, OpenAI and the hardware startup are also discussing partnership options. If acquired, OpenAI would gain not only the technology but also the engineering team that has been developing the device, according to the report's sources.

The deal structure reportedly involves io Products employing engineers to build the device while OpenAI provides AI capabilities and Ive's LoveFrom studio contributes design expertise.

An AI hardware venture would put OpenAI in more direct competition with Apple, despite their existing partnership announced last June where Apple's Siri assistant uses ChatGPT for certain queries.

The AI voice assistant market is becoming increasingly competitive, with OpenAI, Meta, Google, Anthropic, and xAI all developing voice capabilities for their text chatbots. OpenAI launched a voice mode for ChatGPT last year, allowing customers to engage in spoken conversations with the chatbot.

Ive left Apple in 2019, where he served as chief design officer before founding his design firm LoveFrom. He continued to work with Apple as a consultant through LoveFrom until 2022, when the partnership officially concluded.

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Top Rated Comments

klasma Avatar
3 hours ago at 05:39 am
That picture shows why he’d be interested in a screenless phone.
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
wanha Avatar
3 hours ago at 05:44 am
We're visual creatures but sure keep investing billions in the ideology of a screenless device
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dannyyankou Avatar
3 hours ago at 05:45 am
I respect all the work Jony has done, but I think it was necessary for him to leave. I don’t think Macs could’ve gotten as good as they are now if he stayed, trying to make them as thin as possible.

Also, battery life on the iPhone has made big gains ever since his departure.

Edit: Apparently, he helped design the M1 iMac. But that’s the Mac that seems to get the most ridicule these days, lol.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Stella Avatar
3 hours ago at 05:45 am
LOL. AI isn't reliable enough for phone without a screen.

I expect it wants form over function, as usual.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
wbeasley Avatar
3 hours ago at 05:42 am
Another Rabbit... LOL
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Radeon85 Avatar
3 hours ago at 05:42 am
Didn't work well for the iPod shuffle. This would be flop.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)