A tremor has just rippled through Silicon Valley, sending a clear signal that the very devices we hold in our hands might soon be relics. Sir Jony Ive, the legendary design mind who sculpted Apple’s most iconic creations, including the revolutionary iPhone, is embarking on a bold new quest. This time, his canvas is the burgeoning universe of artificial intelligence, as he aligns with the formidable OpenAI.
The whispers are over; the pact is sealed. OpenAI, the powerhouse behind the paradigm-shifting ChatGPT, isn’t just acquiring a startup – it’s absorbing a vision. The company in question, “io,” was a fledgling venture from Ive himself, reportedly born from years of hushed collaboration with OpenAI’s leadership. Now, Ive is set to take on “deep design and creative responsibilities” across the AI behemoth. The implications are vast.
Sam Altman, OpenAI’s chief, didn’t mince words. The objective? To birth a “family of devices” conceived from the ground up with AI at their very core. This isn’t just about smarter gadgets; it’s a direct challenge to the established order, a gauntlet thrown down particularly at the feet of Apple, a company some critics argue has been hesitant in weaving AI deeply into its hardware fabric. “I think we have the opportunity here to kind of completely re-imagine what it means to use a computer,” Altman declared, a statement that resonates with the disruptive potential of this new alliance.
The market, ever sensitive to such tectonic shifts, reacted instantly. Apple’s shares reportedly dipped over 2% following the revelation, a telling sign of the perceived gravity of Ive’s move. After dedicating more than three decades to Apple, where he was instrumental in resurrecting the company with game-changing products like the iPhone and iPod, Ive departed in 2019 to establish his independent design firm, LoveFrom. While LoveFrom will continue its separate journey, the absorption of “io” – a startup valued at an eye-watering $6.4 billion in the merger, in which OpenAI already held a significant 23% stake – signals a concentrated push.
What new forms will technology take when shaped by the man who defined a generation of user experience, now armed with the most advanced AI? In a joint announcement, it was revealed that the ambition to “develop, engineer and manufacture a new family of products demanded an entirely new company,” leading to this pivotal merger.
Sir Jony Ive himself believes the world is teetering “on the brink of a new generation of technology.” With this alliance, he’s not just predicting the future – he’s stepping in to design it. The question on everyone’s mind: what will it look like, and who will be left behind?