What comes after the iPhone? Some suggest it could be AI-related. While early AI devices like Humane’s AI Pin and the R1 Rabbit were a complete failure, it seems the next batch might revolutionize the market. Besides that, if Apple’s former design chief is behind a new tech product, we should probably pay attention.
According to The Information, OpenAI is considering buying the startup founded by Jony Ive and Sam Altman, which is said to be worth at least $500 million. The io Products company develops AI-powered devices, which the publication believes could include a phone without a screen and other AI-enabled products. That said, Jony Ive could be potentially developing an AI phone, the ultimate iPhone replacement.
Still, while people familiar with the matter insist it is “not a phone,”—of course it isn’t—the idea behind it could be as revolutionary as the first iPhone. Still, the report highlights Jony Ive and Altman’s collaboration is still in the early stages, without a product concept in hand.
What makes this project even more enticing is that Laurene Powell Jobs’ Emerson Collective also funds the venture. The startup even includes former Apple designers like Tang Tan and Evans Hankey, who worked with Ive on the iPhone.
At the end of the day, the full acquisition could become a partnership, where OpenAI would get the technology and engineering team while retaining its AI capabilities. At the same time, Jony Ive’s LoveFrom studio would take care of the design part.
Since he left Apple, Jony Ive hasn’t worked on new hardware. However, its design kept making the headlines with the King of England, Ferrari’s partnership, Moncler, and so on.
Reports about Jony Ive working with OpenAI aren’t new. At least since 2023, BGR has reported that Apple’s former design chief has been working on the future iPhone AI. However, with OpenAI planning to buy the startup, the company may be about to arrive at a breakthrough tech point, which means we could soon see hardware from OpenAI that is as innovative as the first iPhone.