As the ubiquity of AI spreads online, an announced merger between OpenAI and the idea factory of Jony Ive — the mind behind the design of the iPhone and MacBook Pro — will likely jump to the real world with an AI-specific family of devices.
OpenAI posted a joint statement Wednesday between its CEO Sam Altman and Ive about the deal to acquire io for a reported $6.5 billion. The merger includes io’s brain trust of more than 50 employees.
The website also has a nine-minute video — embedded below — where the AI visionaries discuss the general rationale behind the merger over coffee in a San Francisco pub as well as the fact that they’ve been quietly working together for more than a year.
Altman And Ive — A Match Made In AI Device Heaven?
In the video, Altman explains why an AI-specific device is needed. “If I wanted to ask ChatGPT something right now, I would need to reach down into my bag, get out my laptop, open it up, launch a browser, start typing and then explain that thing, then hit enter, then wait for a response. That is the limit of what the current tool of a laptop can do,” Altman said.
“It’s just common sense to at least think, surely there’s something beyond these legacy products,” Ive stated. “I have a growing sense that everything I have learned over the last 30 years has led me to this moment. While I am both anxious and excited about the responsibility of the substantial work ahead, I am so grateful for the opportunity to be part of such an important collaboration.”
While no prototypes were displayed, Altman described the beta device that the io team has already developed as, “the coolest piece of technology that the world will have ever seen.”
Experts Share Why An AI Device Is A Big Deal
Conor Grennan is chief AI architect at NYU Stern School of Business as well as CEO and founder of the consultancy AI Mindset. He’s excited at the prospect of hardware that matches the imagination of AI’s utility.
“AI is everywhere, but the way we use it still feels clunky, with too much friction. Jony Ive made Apple products feel like magic — beautiful, simple and something you wanted to hold. If OpenAI can combine its world-class AI brain with hardware designed by Ive, they could make AI feel natural and effortless in our hands. That would drive behavioral change at scale,” Grennan wrote in an email exchange, as did all the experts quoted in this article.
Daniel Newman is a leading AI industry analyst, bestselling technology author and CEO of The Futurum Group. He says the merger is bold and risky.
“Hardware could be a new frontier for OpenAI. This merger, with access to a designer like Ive, could open up the door to creating new devices and profiles that are built for the AI world. A lot of people see this as a big threat to Apple. I do have my doubts, as I think it will be harder to disrupt the hardware ecosystem and the software of iOS and Android due to the large install base. But this belief has also led to meaningful errors of disruption that included the pivot from Nokia handsets and Blackberries,” Newman stated.
Ahmed Banafa, Ph.D., is a technology expert and engineering professor at San Jose State University. He says this union is about much more than just putting AI in a handheld box.
“It’s about a vertical integration strategy that will fundamentally reshape the AI landscape. OpenAI is no longer content to simply provide the brain; they want to design the body, the soul and the entire nervous system of future AI interactions. By controlling both the software and the hardware, they can optimize performance, create seamless experiences and unlock entirely new capabilities that wouldn’t be possible through third-party hardware partnerships alone,” Dr. Banafa explained.
What AI Devices Might Mean For Average People
Rob Howard, AI consultant and educator at Innovating with AI for more than a decade, is a bit skeptical that casual AI users will gravitate toward an AI-specific device — especially given the fact that most AI software is readily available via a mobile device app.
“The idea that consumers are open to purchasing another very expensive piece of hardware to complement their iPhone or their Android phone is a pretty big gamble for OpenAI. It is notoriously difficult to get consumers to adopt new hardware for everyday use. The Apple Watch was one example of success but there have been many examples of failures,” he noted.
“I think intense competition between Apple and OpenAI is very likely to occur and possibly lead to more lockdown and ecosystems that are less open and less interoperable,” he added. “For the typical consumer that means they might not be able to use OpenAI on an Apple device at some point in the future.”
Grennan recognizes that challenges exist with hardware adoption, but he believes the combo of Ive and OpenAI has a chance.
“Big hardware shifts take time. But people are hungry for a device that makes AI fun, useful and easy to interact with. We’ve seen the hype for things like the Rabbit R1, even if they didn’t deliver. If OpenAI and Ive get this right, it could change how we use technology everyday — this could be useful, a status symbol and change the way the world looks at artificial intelligence in everyday life,” he said.
Dr. Banafa noted that while consumers are an obvious target for an AI specific device, Big Tech competitors — and their respective device market share — are prominent targets for the OpenAI and Ive merger as well.
“This isn’t a dalliance; it’s a declaration. OpenAI is moving beyond being a pure software play to becoming a direct competitor in the consumer electronics space. This puts them on a collision course with tech giants like Apple, Google and Meta, all of whom are heavily invested in AI hardware. The competitive landscape just got a lot more interesting.”
