OpenAI is buying iPhone designer Jony Ive’s AI devices startup for $6.4 billion

During the Microsoft Build 2025 conference in Seattle on May 19, 2025, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was seen in a conversation with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on-screen.

OpenAI made an announcement on Wednesday about the acquisition of Jony Ive’s AI devices startup io for approximately $6.4 billion in an all-equity deal. This move solidifies the artificial intelligence company’s presence in the hardware industry. Ive will be taking on significant creative and design responsibilities across both OpenAI and io. While io becomes integrated within OpenAI, Ive and his creative group LoveFrom will continue operating independently.

The io startup, founded a year ago by Ive along with former Apple employees Scott Cannon, Tang Tan, and Evans Hankey, will now merge with OpenAI to collaborate closely with the research, engineering, and product teams in San Francisco. OpenAI is paying $5 billion for the acquisition, as it already owns a 23% stake in the company. Altman expressed his admiration for Ive, referring to him as “the greatest designer in the world.”

This purchase marks OpenAI’s largest acquisition yet and follows its recent agreements to buy Windsurf, an AI-assisted coding tool, for $3 billion, and Rocked, an analytics database company, in 2024. Ive, known for designing iconic Apple products like the iPod, iPhone, and MacBook Air, left Apple in 2019 to establish LoveFrom. The company has been working on projects for various clients, including Christie’s, Airbnb, and Ferrari.

The news of this acquisition surfaces as OpenAI, recently valued at $300 billion in a funding round led by SoftBank, aims to lead the race in generative AI against competitors like Google’s Anthropic and Elon Musk’s AI. Strengthening its hardware operations is crucial in maintaining this competitive edge. To support its hardware ambitions, OpenAI appointed a former Meta executive in November to lead its robotics and consumer hardware initiatives. Additionally, the company invested in Physical Intelligence, a robot startup focused on integrating AI into the physical world. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was among the investors in this venture.

The move to acquire io underscores OpenAI’s commitment to advancing in the AI industry by expanding its hardware capabilities to stay ahead in the rapidly evolving field.