Published: May 22, 2025 ✍️ Author: Global World Citizen Tech Desk 🌐 Source: GlobalWorldCitizen.com 📍 Category: Global Innovation & Artificial Intelligence
In a historic $6.5 billion acquisition, OpenAI has acquired Jony Ive’s hardware startup, io, bringing the legendary Apple designer back into the global tech spotlight. The deal marks a massive shift in the AI device landscape and positions OpenAI to compete directly with Apple — Ive’s former home — in the race to define the future of AI-powered hardware and design innovation.
What Just Happened?
OpenAI acquires io, the hardware startup co-founded by Ive, in a deal valued at $6.5 billion
Ive’s design firm, LoveFrom, will take over design across all OpenAI software and hardware
More than 55 hardware and software engineers from io will join OpenAI
The mission: build the “iPhone of Artificial Intelligence” — an AI device that is natural, intuitive, and deeply personal
What’s Coming: A New AI Companion Device
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Ive revealed plans to launch a new category of AI-powered devices — described as “AI companions” — that will:
Be aware of a user’s environment and life
Fit seamlessly on a desk, in a pocket, or alongside an iPhone
Transform how humans interact with artificial intelligence
Altman emphasized that the product would not simply replace the smartphone but be a “totally new kind of thing”. Ive, who previously criticized early AI devices like the Human AI Pin, is determined to set a new standard.
Strategic Disruption: Apple in the Crosshairs?
Apple is under pressure. Despite its ambitious launch of “Apple Intelligence” in the iPhone 16, the tech giant delayed key AI features until 2026 due to early accuracy issues. Meanwhile, shares have dropped over 17% in 2025, and lawsuits have emerged over misleading AI feature promotions. 
With Ive — the visionary behind the iMac, iPod, iPhone, and Apple Watch — now leading design at OpenAI, the balance of innovation may be shifting.
“Jony Ive is the greatest designer in the world,” Altman wrote. “Together, we’re creating a new generation of AI-powered computers.”
Who Is Jony Ive?
Jony Ive is one of the most celebrated designers in tech history:
Lead designer of iconic Apple products from 1998–2019
Architect behind Apple Park, the company’s $5B headquarters
Founder of LoveFrom, his independent design agency
Now partnered with OpenAI to shape the future of AI hardware
His design philosophy — minimal, human-centered, emotionally intuitive — is expected to transform OpenAI’s product experience.
Inspired by Sci-Fi: From “Her” to Here
According to sources, OpenAI’s upcoming AI device may be inspired by the 2013 film “Her”, where a human builds an emotional relationship with a sentient AI assistant. The goal?
Build AI that feels natural, present, and relational — not just functional.
What to Watch For
Launch Timeline: First product expected by 2026
Potential for AI-powered computers and wearables
Continued investments from OpenAI in robotics and AR hardware
Increasing competition with Apple, Google, and Meta in the AI space
GlobalWorldCitizen.com Insight:
This deal isn’t just about gadgets — it’s about reshaping the human-AI relationship.
Design Empathy Privacy Presence
With Jony Ive’s design genius and OpenAI’s world-leading tech, the next era of AI hardware could be as revolutionary as the smartphone itself. 
Stay tuned. The future of AI is being designed — and the world is watching.