According to The Information, former Apple design director Jony Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are collaborating on developing AI-powered personal devices and are currently raising $1 billion in funding. It is said that this is their goal.
The obscure startup has raised money from major venture capitalists, including potential investors like OpenAI investor Thrive Capital and Emerson Collective, the venture capital firm founded by Laurene Powell Jobs.
Details about the AI device remain unclear, but sources say the device looks nothing like a smartphone. Altman, a key investor in the screenless artificial intelligence venture Humane, may be working on a similar product to Ive.
As last reported, the two brainstormed ideas to create a natural and intuitive way to interact with AI, similar to how the original iPhone revolutionized mobile computing with its touchscreen. The focus is on creating new methods.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son consulted with Io and Altman and suggested a partnership with Arm, a chip design company in which SoftBank owns 90 percent. The three have discussed the possibility of forming a new company that would draw on the talent and technology of their respective groups, but no agreement has yet been reached and an official announcement could be months away.
Ive, who left his position as Apple’s head of design in 2019, initially continued to work as a consultant for the company through his company LoveFrom. However, their partnership ended in 2022.
Ive and Altman’s new company could compete with Apple, which has made significant advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning in hardware and services. Apple CEO Tim Cook has said the company will make an AI-related announcement by the end of 2024.
To further strengthen the project, Tang Tan, who retired as Apple’s iPhone and Watch design director, will join LoveFrom in February. Tan will lead the company’s hardware design and work on the look and feel of future products, including artificial intelligence devices. During his time at Apple, Tan worked on the development of the iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods.
The project is still in its early stages and is focused on hiring talent and creating concepts. However, according to sources, the company is already developing concepts for home devices and OpenAI is working on developing concepts for these products.
The company provides software for these products. Even if a hardware product is successfully developed, it can take several years to reach the market.
Bhupendra Singh Chundawat is a seasoned technology journalist with over 22 years of experience in the media industry. He specializes in covering the global technology landscape, with a deep focus on manufacturing trends and the geopolitical impact on tech companies. Currently serving as the Editor at Udaipur Kiran, his insights are shaped by decades of hands-on reporting and editorial leadership in the fast-evolving world of technology.
