In a monumental move, OpenAI has acquired io, the AI device startup founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive, in a deal valued at approximately $6.4 billion. This acquisition, which CNBC reports as an all-equity agreement, marks OpenAI's largest to date and includes its existing stake in io, bringing the net payment to about $5 billion.

A New Era of AI Devices

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman hailed the merger as the dawn of the "greatest technology revolution of their lifetimes." He praised Ive, stating, "Jony is the deepest thinker of anyone I’ve ever met. What that leads him to be able to come up with is unmatched." The core mission behind this integration is to "create a family of devices that would let people use AI to create all sorts of wonderful things."

Ive's Continued Influence

Ive, who left Apple in 2019 to establish his "creative collective" LoveFrom, will assume "deep creative and design responsibilities across OpenAI and io." Importantly, LoveFrom will maintain its independence from the broader OpenAI and io integration. Ive co-founded io a year ago with former Apple colleagues Scott Cannon, Tang Tan, and Evans Hankey. The io team, dedicated to developing "products that inspire, empower and enable," will now merge with OpenAI's research, engineering, and product teams in San Francisco to foster closer collaboration.

OpenAI's Growth Trajectory

This acquisition follows another significant investment by OpenAI last month, when it reportedly paid $3 billion to acquire AI-assisted coding tool Windsurf. The current deal with io further solidifies OpenAI's strategic expansion into the AI device market, leveraging Ive's renowned design expertise, which previously shaped iconic Apple products like the iPhone and Mac during his tenure as chief design officer from 1996.