A new age of AI hardware is beginning with the alliance between the creator of ChatGPT and an Apple pioneer in design. A big change in the technology industry followed when OpenAI announced it was buying Jony Ive’s startup “io” for $6.5 billion in stock. When companies led by Sam Altman and Ive team up, it means a major change is coming to artificial intelligence.
On May 21st, 2025, it was revealed that a partnership that began without notice two years ago now remains OpenAI’s largest acquisition ever. This partnership links OpenAI’s innovative AI with Ive’s exceptional talent for designing technology that is easy for people to use.
Altman and Ive said in their statement that computers are gaining the ability to see, think and learn. We may now do incredible things, but we continue to be shaped by conventional products and interfaces.
This declaration expresses the central vision behind the partnership—to deal with the increasing divide between how technology develops and how we currently respond to it. Our main way of using advanced AI is still mainly tied to using conventional screens and keyboards.
The io team was set up only last year and I’ve described it as assembling “the best in hardware and software engineering, technology, physics, scientific research and product and manufacturing design.” Decades of working together have helped many of the team members develop a deep understanding and common vision.
A Team That Took Decades to Bring Together
Making io happen was the end result of decisions made over thirty years by dedicated professionals. Besides Ive, Scott Cannon, Evans Hankey and Tang Tan are also guiding this new venture. All four have spent much of their careers working on some of the world’s favorite consumer gadgets at Apple.
For Ive, this represents a natural evolution of his storied career. “I have a growing sense that everything I have learned over the last 30 years has led me to this moment,” he reflected in the announcement. Since departing Apple in 2019 to establish his design firm LoveFrom, Ive has been selective about his projects, making this partnership with OpenAI all the more significant.
Rekindling Silicon Valley’s Optimistic Spirit
Both Altman and Ive have mentioned wanting to bring back some of the enthusiasm that made Silicon Valley great in the past. He has appreciated “the excitement and innocence of Silicon Valley” that encouraged him to move to America decades earlier and Altman said he aims to bring back “some of the wonder and creative joy” he felt when using his Apple computer for the first time three decades ago.
This look back suggests that the intent is to create more than just incremental upgrades to current products. Rather, they seem to have set out to build new products that have the potential to greatly transform how we use technology, as we saw with the Macintosh, iPod and iPhone.
What Products Might Emerge?
While specific product plans remain undisclosed, industry analysts are speculating about potential directions:
- AI-First Home Devices: Going beyond current smart speakers and displays to create ambient computing experiences that feel more natural and intuitive.
- Wearable AI: Devices that integrate AI capabilities in ways that complement human cognition without being intrusive.
- Reimagined Productivity Tools: New forms of computing that transcend traditional interface paradigms to better leverage AI’s capabilities for creative and knowledge work.
- Educational Technology: The announcement mentioned building tools that “support learning, creativity and exploration,” suggesting educational applications may be an early focus.
Any product will likely combine Ive’s three priorities of being useful, clear and connected, producing gadgets that feel fresh and yet desirable as ever.
The Effects of the Market and Industry’s Responses
With this step, OpenAI enters consumer hardware, which could allow it to measure up to titans Apple, Google and Microsoft as they move into the next computing era. This $6.5 billion valuation for io highlights how significant OpenAI finds Ive’s design contributions and the great value he brings.
This partnership may speed up the effort to change today’s AI systems, which are mostly seen as powerful but abstract services, into AI that feels natural and is linked to well-designed physical objects.
The merger of OpenAI-io is answering an important question in technology’s progress: As AI develops, how do we interact with it? Currently, writing queries in chat or speaking to no one could fail to maximize AI’s benefits or fit well with how our mind works.
Experts in artificial intelligence and product design are working together to improve how humans use smart machines. Altman explained that while AI is an amazing tool, making it useful also means combining work in technology, design and knowledge about people and the world.
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