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OpenAI Acquires Jony Ive’s Startup for $6.5 Billion, Taps iPhone Designer as Creative Head for AI Devices

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OpenAI has acquired io Products, the hardware startup co-founded by legendary Apple designer Jony Ive, in a $6.5 billion all-stock deal, and named him creative head of the company as it seeks to build breakthrough devices for the generative AI era.

The move marks OpenAI’s most ambitious hardware play yet, combining Ive’s iconic product design legacy with the company’s fast-evolving AI capabilities. Ive’s design firm LoveFrom has been collaborating with OpenAI for the past two years, exploring new device concepts designed to move beyond the traditional smartphone and laptop interfaces.

“The products that we’re using to deliver and connect us to unimaginable technology — they’re decades old,” said Sam Altman and Jony Ive in a video posted to OpenAI’s blog.
“Surely there’s something beyond these legacy products we have.”

Altman teased a working prototype — calling it “the coolest piece of technology the world will have ever seen” — though no product details were shared.

Strategic Implications

OpenAI previously held a 23% stake in io Products, according to a source familiar with the matter. The $6.5 billion valuation is based on OpenAI’s estimated market value of $300 billion.

This acquisition underscores OpenAI’s desire to control its own hardware platform, breaking away from reliance on Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android to distribute its AI services, such as ChatGPT and other generative tools.

“OpenAI is interested in owning the next hardware platform so they don’t have to sell their products through Apple or Google,” said Gil Luria, analyst at D.A. Davidson.

Competitive Landscape

The AI hardware category is heating up, with recent attempts including:

  • Humane’s AI Pin, developed by ex-Apple executives, which was recently shut down and acquired by HP after poor reception due to limited battery life and high cost.

  • Rabbit’s r1 device, which sold over 100,000 units but has drawn criticism for limited functionality compared to smartphones.

  • Meta’s Quest and Ray-Ban smart glasses, part of the company’s long-term push into AI-powered wearables.

Apple, meanwhile, has been slow to integrate generative AI tools, with its Apple Intelligence features lagging behind offerings on Android. The news of Ive’s alignment with OpenAI sparked a more than 2% drop in Apple shares.

What’s Next?

OpenAI now positions itself not just as a software leader in AI, but as a potential hardware disruptor, aiming to redefine how users physically interact with intelligent systems. With Jony Ive on board and a prototype already in development, the tech world is watching closely to see if OpenAI can succeed where others have faltered.

Trump Administration to Scrap Biden-Era AI Chip Export Limits, Citing Innovation Concerns

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The Trump administration plans to rescind and revise a key Biden-era rule that restricted exports of advanced AI chips, aiming to replace it with a streamlined system that it says will better support U.S. innovation and AI leadership, the Commerce Department confirmed on Wednesday.

The Biden administration’s rule, part of a broader effort to curb China’s access to military-grade semiconductor technology, was set to go into effect May 15. Known as the Framework for Artificial Intelligence Diffusion, the rule divided global countries into three tiers based on their level of trust and posed export caps accordingly.

Why It’s Being Scrapped:

The Commerce Department spokeswoman called the rule:

“Overly complex, overly bureaucratic, and would stymie American innovation.”

She said the Trump administration is preparing a simpler replacement that removes the tier-based structure and introduces a global licensing regime governed through bilateral government agreements instead.

Tier System Under Biden Rule:

  • Tier 1: 17 allied countries + Taiwan (no restrictions)

  • Tier 2: ~120 countries (chip quantity caps)

  • Tier 3: China, Russia, Iran, North Korea (outright ban)

What Comes Next:

  • A new rule will rescind the tiered structure.

  • A government-to-government licensing regime is being discussed.

  • There’s no official timeline yet, as internal debate continues.

  • The Trump administration aims to focus on AI leadership and economic competitiveness, rather than control through blanket restrictions.

Market Reaction:

  • Nvidia (NVDA.O), a leading AI chipmaker whose sales have been constrained by export limits, rose 3% on the news, but slipped 0.7% after hours as markets absorbed the uncertainty surrounding implementation.

Strategic Context:

The Biden rule was part of a multi-year initiative to block Chinese access to cutting-edge chips used in AI and defense, while bolstering U.S. global dominance in emerging technologies. But the Trump team argues that these controls could inadvertently hurt American firms by stalling chip sales to non-hostile countries and overcomplicating enforcement.

A shift to bilateral licensing could give the U.S. more flexibility and diplomatic leverage, but critics warn it may also open loopholes and weaken safeguards designed to prevent authoritarian regimes from exploiting AI.

DeepSeek Narrows AI Gap with US, Says 01.AI Founder Lee Kai-fu

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China has significantly closed the artificial intelligence (AI) development gap with the United States, with companies like DeepSeek narrowing the divide to just three months in certain areas, according to Lee Kai-fu, CEO of Chinese AI startup 01.AI. Lee, a renowned figure in AI and former head of Google China, revealed in an interview that Chinese firms, particularly DeepSeek, have enhanced efficiency in chip usage and algorithm application, accelerating their progress.

DeepSeek’s launch of an AI reasoning model earlier this year challenged the assumption that U.S. sanctions were hindering China’s AI growth. The model, trained using less advanced chips, was cheaper to develop than its Western counterparts, shaking the global AI industry. Lee pointed out that previously, the gap between China and the U.S. was six to nine months, but now it has narrowed to just three months in some core AI technologies. In specific areas, Chinese companies have even surpassed their Western rivals.

Despite U.S. sanctions on semiconductors, which initially posed challenges, Lee believes that these constraints have driven Chinese companies to innovate. He noted that DeepSeek’s new approach to reinforcement learning—a technology that shows users the reasoning process before delivering answers—demonstrates this innovation, now on par or even ahead of U.S. developments.

Lee also highlighted that China’s tech sector, initially seen as trailing in AI development, rapidly entered the generative AI race after OpenAI’s ChatGPT launch in late 2022. With startups like DeepSeek and 01.AI entering the field, China’s AI capabilities have gained global attention.

Lee’s 01.AI, which he founded in 2023, focuses on practical AI applications rather than developing proprietary foundational models, aiming to help enterprises deploy AI solutions efficiently. The company launched Wanzhi, a software platform, earlier this month to assist businesses in integrating AI technologies, already generating revenue and forecasting substantial growth for 2025.