For over a year, rumors have been circulating about a partnership between Sam Altman and Jony Ive to design a mysterious device powered by generative artificial intelligence. The two leaders—the former of OpenAI and the latter of the design studio LoveFrom—have not been very forthcoming about this joint effort, which would take several more years to produce anything concrete.
A screenless phone, home automation devices...
To house this development, Altman and Ive have created A startup called io Products is working on several products, reports The Information. It will reportedly include a screenless phone, as well as home automation devices. The io Products team includes designers Tang Tan and Evans Hankey, who worked on the iPhone with Jony Ive when they all worked at Apple.
The startup is funded by Ive and the Emerson Collective, an organization led by Laurene Powell Jobs, Steve Jobs' widow. OpenAI is reportedly very interested in this business, so much so that an acquisition is on the table. The deal would amount to at least $500 million.
If the deal goes through, the creator of ChatGPT would not only acquire the technology, but also, and more importantly, the team of engineers working on Ive and Altman's first projects. This is very valuable brainpower. If a purchase cannot be made, the two companies would also consider a closer collaboration.
This could, for example, be a structure in which io Products engineers design the devices, OpenAI provides the AI capabilities, and LoveFrom the design.
All these good fairy tales will not be too much to find a hardware outlet for generative AI. So far, attempts like Rabbit's R1 or Humane's AI Pin have resulted in flops.
Source: The Information
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