OpenAI Buys Jony Ive's HW Startup, OpenAI’s First HW Product, Connecting the OpenAI HW Dots
Happy Thursday. We will dedicate a full update to the Jony Ive / OpenAI news. The update begins with a little bit of background on what Jony Ive has been up to since Apple. We will then talk about yesterday’s news, including what was quite the interesting announcement video put out by OpenAI, and what will likely be OpenAI’s first HW product.
Let’s jump in.
OpenAI Buys Jony Ive's HW Startup
Since leaving Apple in 2019, Jony has been running LoveFrom, a design consultancy he started with Marc Newson. LoveFrom, which poached a decent number of Apple employees, has a handful of high-profile clients including Airbnb and Ferrari. While the company has garnered some headlines here and there, the overall vibe has been very much a team of creatives quietly working behind the scenes on interesting projects and products.
In 2023, rumors began to circulate that Jony was working with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on AI devices. The rumors were surprising, to put it mildly, given the hoopla surrounding OpenAI. Last year, there were reports of Jony and former Apple designers starting a new HW company dedicated to working on AI devices with OpenAI. The company was seeking $1B in funding.
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