The announcement was published in an article titled This is an extraordinary moment, signed by OpenAI CEO Sam altman and Jony Ive.
Since 2022, OpenAI's AI products have provided superior user experiences, but according to altman and Ive, they are still heavily influenced by traditional devices and interfaces.
Realizing the potential to change this, Ive - who was behind the design of the iPhone, iPad and MacBook - and his company LoveFrom have been working quietly with OpenAI for two years. They started with exchanges, gradually expanding into ambitions to create a new generation of AI devices.
From this spirit of cooperation, last year, Ive, along with colleagues Scott Cannon, Evans Hankey and Tang Tan, established IO - a company that gathers many talented software and hardware engineers. Now, IO officially merging into OpenAI, Ive and LoveFrom will be responsible for shaping the design and innovation of the company's future AI products.
In a video posted on platform X, altman and Ive were seen discussing a San Francisco coffee shop about a vision with new computers and a completely new line of AI hardware. However, neither has revealed the specific launch date of the product, only saying that they will share more next year.
The idea of a super AI device was mentioned by Ive since 2023 in an interview with the New York Times. At that time, he said that AI could help users go beyond traditional software, such as summarizing and prioritizing messages, or handling complex requests such as booking travel tickets.
However, after many meetings, he and altman have reached a consensus to jointly build a new generation of AI equipment, in which LoveFrom will take on the design.
According to Business Insider, OpenAI's IO acquisition not only helps strengthen its ability to develop hardware but also opens up the ability to create an AI product that is both technologically powerful and attractive thanks to its iconic design. altman has previously experimented with hardware such as the Orbs authentication device or invested in Humane's AI Pin smartphone, but has not been successful.
Jony Ive left Apple in 2019 after nearly 30 years of association, leaving a deep impression in the history of global technology design.
