Jony – Earlybirds Invest https://earlybirdsinvest.com Latest Crypto News Sun, 25 May 2025 15:02:10 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.8 https://i0.wp.com/earlybirdsinvest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/cropped-New-Project-2024-12-17T235703.455.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Jony – Earlybirds Invest https://earlybirdsinvest.com 32 32 240146708 OpenAI Buys Jony Ive’s io in $6.4 Billion Deal to Build Next-Gen AI Devices https://earlybirdsinvest.com/openai-buys-jony-ives-io-in-6-4-billion-deal-to-build-next-gen-ai-devices/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/openai-buys-jony-ives-io-in-6-4-billion-deal-to-build-next-gen-ai-devices/#respond Sun, 25 May 2025 15:02:10 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/openai-buys-jony-ives-io-in-6-4-billion-deal-to-build-next-gen-ai-devices/

OpenAI has announced the acquisition of io, a hardware company launched in 2024 by former Apple design chief Jony Ive.

The deal, worth $6.4 billion in stock, brings io’s team of about 55 engineers and product specialists into OpenAI’s headquarters in San Francisco.

The plan, according to the company’s announcement on May 21, is to build smaller, more personal devices that give users easier access to OpenAI’s tools.

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OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, said, “Jony gave me one of the prototypes of the device for the first time to take home, and I’ve been able to live with it, and I think it is the coolest piece of technology that the world has ever seen”.

Ive is known for leading the design of several Apple products, including the first iMac—a machine that played a key role in helping Apple recover during the late 1990s.

Ive started io with a few of his Apple colleagues—Scott Cannon, Evans Hankey, and Tang Tan. His independent design firm, LoveFrom, will help shape the look and feel of OpenAI’s future products.

Meanwhile, io’s team will focus on making sure the devices work well, from hardware parts to software features.

In the announcement, Ive said:

I have a growing sense that everything I have learned over the last 30 years has led me to this moment.

Recently, OpenAI decided to remove the limit on how much investors can earn by changing its business model into a “public benefit company”. What did Altman say about it? Read the full story.

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]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/openai-buys-jony-ives-io-in-6-4-billion-deal-to-build-next-gen-ai-devices/feed/ 0 38244 OpenAI ventures into hardware with $6.4B deal for legendary designer Jony Ive’s startup io https://earlybirdsinvest.com/openai-ventures-into-hardware-with-6-4b-deal-for-legendary-designer-jony-ives-startup-io/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/openai-ventures-into-hardware-with-6-4b-deal-for-legendary-designer-jony-ives-startup-io/#respond Thu, 22 May 2025 08:17:05 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/openai-ventures-into-hardware-with-6-4b-deal-for-legendary-designer-jony-ives-startup-io/

OpenAI announced on May 21 that it will acquire Jony Ive’s artificial intelligence hardware startup io in an all-equity transaction valued at approximately $6.4 billion, according to a report by CNBC.

The acquisition, OpenAI’s largest to date, marks a decisive step into hardware for the company best known for its generative AI models. The deal incorporates io directly into OpenAI.

Meanwhile, Ive, a former Apple design chief, will retain independence for his design firm, LoveFrom.

Ive is credited with designing the iPhone, iPad, and other key Apple products. He will assume design and creative responsibilities across OpenAI and io. 

Integration into AI and product teams

In a joint statement, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Ive said the io team will relocate to San Francisco to work closely with OpenAI’s research and product teams.

The io startup, founded a year ago by Ive and former Apple colleagues Scott Cannon, Tang Tan, and Evans Hankey, was previously operated as part of LoveFrom.

OpenAI currently owns a 23% stake in io, contributing $1.4 billion to the deal’s valuation. The remaining $5 billion will be transferred in equity. 

The transaction will bring io’s device-focused team in-house, adding industrial design capacity to OpenAI’s portfolio. In a statement shared on X, Altman described Ive as “the greatest designer in the world.”

The deal comes weeks after OpenAI agreed to acquire Windsurf, an AI coding assistant, for $3 billion.

Hardware investments

Alongside its in-house efforts, OpenAI has invested in Physical Intelligence, a San Francisco-based robotics startup that raised $400 million in 2024 at a valuation of $2.4 billion.

That round included participation from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Physical Intelligence is building general-purpose AI to operate in physical environments, suggesting OpenAI’s broader intent to pair software with tactile systems.

The acquisition of io reinforces that direction. While OpenAI did not disclose specific products, the blog post referenced devices that “inspire, empower, and enable,” and emphasized IO’s mission to translate AI capabilities into consumer-oriented form factors.

OpenAI’s purchase of io highlights its strategy to build out physical interfaces for its models, as the competitive field in generative AI continues to widen with entries from Google, Anthropic, and xAI.

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