Jony Ive Confirms Working With OpenAI’s Altman On Device

Matthew Broersma,
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Sir Jony Ive, former Apple designer. Image credit: Apple

Former Apple designer Sir Jony Ive confirms working with OpenAI chief Sam Altman on AI device ‘less socially disruptive’ than iPhone

Former Apple designer Sir Jony Ive has confirmed he is collaborating with OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman on an AI hardware start-up.

The project was first reported last September, but Ive has only now confirmed it in a New York Times profile about his activities since leaving Apple five years ago.

Ive said the idea for the start-up, which he didn’t name, emerged from dinners with Altman last year and said his firm LoveFrom is leading the design.

He said the goal is to produce “a product that uses AI to create a computing experience that is less socially disruptive than the iPhone”.

OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman. Image credit: OpenAI
OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman. Image credit: OpenAI

Fund-raising

Industrial designer Marc Newson, who is working with Ive on the project, said the product specifics and release timing haven’t been decided.

The start-up is raising funds, however, including contributions from Laurene Powell Jobs’ Emerson Collective and Ive himself.

It is aiming to raise $1 billion (£750m) by the end of the year, Ive said.

A Financial Times report last year said Altman and Ive were teaming up to build the “iPhone of artificial intelligence”, with more than $1bn in funding from SoftBank chief executive Masayoshi Son.

The report cited unnamed sources as saying Ive and Altman are aiming to create a device that provides a “more natural and intuitive user experience” to interact with AI.

Both reportedly took inspiration from how touchscreen technology in the original iPhone helped revolutionise interactions with the mobile internet.

Shift away from screens

SoftBank’s Son was reportedly pushing for British chip designer ARM, in which SoftBank holds a 90 percent stake, to play a central role in the project.

The intended device would reportedly be less reliant on screens, after Ive previously expressed concern about the compulsive mobile use among many people.

Since his departure from Apple, Sir Jony and LoveFrom have been involved in a number of hardware projects, including a special-edition record turntable from British home audio technology maker Linn.