Former Apple Designer Jony Ive Confirms Work on an OpenAI Device

Key Takeaways

Jony Ive is teaming up with OpenAI's Sam Altman to create a new AI hardware device.

Backed by over $1 billion, the project is being developed by a small team in San Francisco.

Details about the device are still limited as development continues.

After five years away from Apple, where he once shaped the future of technology with the iconic iPhone, Jony Ive is back, this time collaborating with OpenAI’s Sam Altman. Together, they’re working on an AI-powered device that could change the way we interact with technology. The goal? To make AI feel more seamless and natural in our daily lives.

This exciting news came from a profile on Jony Ive in the New York Times, nearly a year after whispers of this collaboration first surfaced. The project, which has received over $1 billion in backing from investors like SoftBank’s CEO Masayoshi Son, is being talked about as the potential “iPhone of artificial intelligence.”

Yet, much remains a mystery. While we know that Ive and Altman met through Airbnb’s CEO Brian Chesky, concrete details about the device are still being closely guarded. What is known is that a handful of key players are involved, including the Emerson Collective (founded by Laurene Powell Jobs) and Thrive Capital, with talks of the project potentially securing even more funding by year’s end. Curiously, the New York Times doesn’t mention Son's direct involvement, but the possibility of $1 billion in support certainly raises eyebrows.

The team behind this ambitious project is small, with just 10 people, but it’s a powerhouse group. Tang Tan, who played a crucial role in the development of the iPhone, is on board, as is Evans Hankey, who took over as Apple's head of design after Ive's departure. From their base in a stunning 32,000-square-foot office in San Francisco—a building Ive acquired as part of a $90 million real estate investment—they’re working to bring this vision to life.

“The Next Big Thing”

The device itself? Well, it’s being described as a product that will use AI to create an experience less intrusive and more harmonious than the iPhone. Imagine a world where technology blends seamlessly into your life without constantly pulling you away from reality. According to The New York Times, Ive and Altman have been exploring how generative AI could be the key to creating a device that handles complex requests far better than the software we’re familiar with today. There’s even speculation it may borrow ideas from the original iPhone, like touchscreens, to make it more intuitive.

But for now, much of the project is still under wraps. Even Marc Newson, who worked closely with Ive at both Apple and LoveFrom, hinted that the final details and release date are yet to be confirmed.

It’s a bold move, especially given the recent flops of other AI-powered devices like the Humane AI Pin and Rabbit R1. Both were hyped as "the next big thing," but consumers ultimately preferred AI on their smartphones. However, if anyone can reshape how we use AI, it’s Jony Ive and his track record of game-changing designs. Could this new device finally be the one to break through and make AI hardware a staple in our lives? Only time will tell, but it's clear that something big is on the horizon.