Jony Ive Could Develop AI Hardware Device With OpenAI's Sam Altman

Former Apple design chief Jony Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman have been discussing building a new AI hardware device, according to a new report by The Information.

jony ive ipad pro
Both men have spoken to SoftBank CEO and investor Masayoshi Son about the idea, according to people familiar with the conversations, but it's not clear if he will remain involved. Since leaving Apple, Ive has been concentrating on working for several clients through his British design studio, LoveFrom.

The report is scant on details, and does not reveal anything about what such a device could be, but Ive and Altman are said to be friends and have been discussing "what new hardware for the age of AI could look like," according to one person familiar with the matter.

Altman is one of the biggest investors in consumer hardware startup Humane, with was founded by Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, both former Apple employees. The startup plans to develop a screenless wearable device that can be directed using voice prompts and gestures, and projects information onto surfaces in front of it. Chaudhri in May demoed a prototype to a TEDTalk audience. Ultimately, Humane plans to integrate OpenAI's technology into the device.

OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot has made waves in the tech world since it was launched to the public less than a year ago. The company's annual revenue pace has exceeded $1 billion, thanks to ChatGPT subscriptions and paid access to the chatbot's latest and most advanced incarnation, GPT-4. In May 2023, OpenAI released an official ChatGPT app for the iPhone and iPad.

For Apple's part, the company has significantly ramped up its spending on artificial intelligence, according to a previous report by The Information. Apple's "Foundational Models" team that works on conversational AI includes just 16 people, but Apple is said to be spending millions of dollars per day training its language models, which could one day be integrated into Siri.

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Top Rated Comments

AAPLGeek Avatar
18 months ago
Whenever I see that pic of Jony...

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Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
steve09090 Avatar
18 months ago
Just came on here to support Sir Jonny Ive because I know how much hate (jealously) people have for him.
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
laptech Avatar
18 months ago
This post should be taught in Journalism studies on 'How to make a news article from nothing and fill it with news fodder' because that is basically what this post is. men seen having a conversation but no one knows what the conversation was actually about, no idea about hardware or design concepts, nothing, absolutely nothing but here we are with an MR editor making a news article out of nothing just to fill some space and because there is nothing it is filled with news fodder. Come on MR editors, you can do a lot better than that.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
arkitect Avatar
18 months ago
This could be interesting.

Hopefully Ive when paired with the right people can throw off the shackles of Apple and do something truly innovative.

Fingers crossed!


Just came on here to support Sir Jonny Ive because I know how much hate (jealously) people have for him.
Really? Hate?

Speaking for myself, I am more puzzled and disappointed by how the man who came up with the brilliant, innovative and fun Apple designs managed to paint himself into a corner with his obsession on thinness.

He's a hugely talented guy who also managed to be in the right place at the right time. But his later work was definitely not on par with the inventiveness of the earlier stuff.

If that is "hate" or "Jealousy" then… *shrug*
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Skyscraperfan Avatar
18 months ago
Not sure if that would be a good idea. Ive always prioritized form over function.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Love-hate ? relationship Avatar
18 months ago


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Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)