OpenAI has acquired io, the design startup co-founded by legendary former Apple designer Sir Jony Ive, in a $6.5 billion deal aimed at developing a new generation of AI-powered devices.

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Sir Jony, who famously led the design of the iMac, iPhone, and iPad, will now take on a central creative role at OpenAI. CEO Sam Altman called him “the greatest designer in the world,” and said their first joint project — already in prototype phase — is “the coolest piece of technology the world will have ever seen.”

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The pair said they aim to rethink the very concept of a computer, blending AI advances like ChatGPT with radically new hardware. “The world is on the brink of a new generation of technology,” Sir Jony said in a statement. “The first product we’re working on has completely captured our imagination.”

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The announcement marks a major hardware play by OpenAI, whose software has revolutionised tech since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022. Unlike previous attempts at “AI-native” devices — such as Humane’s critically panned AI Pin — the Ive-Altman collaboration has the potential to finally crack the market.

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The move also gives OpenAI a more direct route to consumers, bypassing companies like Apple, Google and Microsoft, which have so far controlled the hardware gateways for AI products. Notably, Apple’s shares dipped more than 2% following the announcement.

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Ive’s design firm LoveFrom had been quietly working with OpenAI for two years before spinning out io last year. OpenAI already owned a 23% stake in the startup before buying it outright this week.

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As competition intensifies in the AI space, OpenAI’s investment in iconic design and custom hardware could prove a pivotal differentiator — and its most tangible step yet toward building its own Apple-style ecosystem.

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