OpenAI forms a new hardware division with the io team, led by Jony Ive, to develop AI-native devices, possibly launching a voice-first product as early as 2026.

Jony Ive, the famed designer who joined Steve Jobs to develop Apple’s most popular products, will now curate new devices for OpenAI after his startup was acquired by Sam Altman’s firm earlier this week,

With Ive leading design, OpenAI aims to pair the tech behind its ChatGPT chatbot with product design expertise that made the iPhone a bestseller.

Jony Ive is renowned for crafting a meticulous product design aesthetic that shaped the tech cultural zeitgeist during a 27-year career at Apple. He did his most influential work after Apple co-founder Steve Jobs returned to run the company in 1997,

More details are trickling out about Jony Ive and Sam Altman’s new AI device. In a post on Thursday, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says his research indicates that the device could be larger than Humane’s AI pin, but with a “form factor as compact and elegant as an iPod Shuffle.”

OpenAI's acquisition of Jony Ive's company is intriguing, but Apple doesn't have anything to worry about just yet.

As OpenAI competes with tech giants such as Google, Meta and Apple, it's recruiting some of the most well-known figures in the tech industry.

Well-funded and big-name partnerships often end in failure. And ex-Apple employees don’t have a great record of success.