OpenAI has announced the acquisition of io Products, the AI hardware startup co-founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive, in an all-stock deal valued at approximately $6.4 billion. This strategic move marks OpenAI’s largest acquisition to date and signals a major shift toward developing AI-optimized hardware alongside its software offerings.
OpenAI already owned a 23% stake in io and will pay about $5 billion in equity to acquire the remaining shares. The startup, founded just last year by Ive and fellow Apple veterans, focuses on creating devices designed from the ground up for artificial intelligence, rather than adding AI as an afterthought.
Ive, renowned for his role in designing iconic products like the iPhone, iPad, and MacBook, will take on the role of Creative Head at OpenAI. While he will continue to lead his independent design studio LoveFrom, Ive will now have deep creative and design responsibilities across both OpenAI and io, helping to shape the next generation of AI-powered devices.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman highlighted the significance of the acquisition, saying, “We have the opportunity here to completely reimagine what it means to use a computer.” The company envisions a future where traditional interfaces like screens and keyboards may be replaced by new forms of AI interaction.
Though specific details about the hardware remain under wraps, insiders describe the upcoming products as “something totally different to a phone”, a novel platform tailored for the AI-first era. The acquisition aligns with OpenAI’s broader ambition to build a family of products for the artificial general intelligence (AGI) future, where AI systems match or exceed human intelligence.
The io team of about 55 engineers and designers will join OpenAI, further strengthening its hardware development capabilities. This deal follows OpenAI’s recent acquisitions of AI-assisted coding tool Windsurf for $3 billion and analytics company Rockset, highlighting its rapid expansion in both AI software and hardware.
