Latest news with #iyO
Mint
2 hours ago
- Business
- Mint
OpenAI quietly removes all mention of Jonny Ive's ‘IO', but deal stays on: What you need to know
ChatGPT maker OpenAI has removed all the much touted promotional material and the blogpost around the $6.5 billion acquisition of former Apple designer Jonny Ive's AI startup. While one would assume that's owing to some resistance in the deal, that's not the case here with reports suggesting that a trademark dispute could have led to the removal of all the promotional material. You may be interested in As per Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, OpenAI was sued over the name IO and a federal judge later ordered the company to remove all materials that included the name. Since then, OpenAI has also updated the old blogpost to reveal that the page is down due to a copyright complaint by iyO. 'This page is temporarily down due to a court order following a trademark complaint from iyO about our use of the name 'io.' We don't agree with the complaint and are reviewing our options.' OpenAI said in the blogpost. Notably, OpenAI had announced the acquisition of Ive's AI startup in May along with the news that Ive and his team would be working with the ChatGPT maker to work on a new secretive hardware products. The deal involved OpenAI acquiring Ive's startup called IO products and merging his team with that of its own research and engineering departments. 'The deal is expected to be completed this summer, pending regulatory approvals. The takeover of io will provide OpenAI with about 55 hardware engineers, software developers and manufacturing experts — a team that will build what Ive and Altman expect to be a family of devices. The two executives had already been exploring some early ideas for about two years' OpenAI had said in its announcement blogpost. As per a TechCrunch report, iyO is a a generative AI company which is spun out of the Alphabet X 'moonshot factory' in 2021. The company is founded by Jason Rugolo and aims to deliver screen-free, voice first computing experience. It's first product is the iyO One earbuds that allow users to interact naturally with AI agnets for tasks like controlling music, looking up information and more. 'This is an utterly baseless complaint and we'll fight it vigorously,' a spokesperson for Ive was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.
Android Authority
4 hours ago
- Business
- Android Authority
OpenAI-Jony Ive AI hardware venture hits trademark snag over brand name
OpenAI TL;DR A blog post announcing OpenAI's $6.5B acquisition of Jony Ive's hardware startup 'io' has been taken down due to a court order stemming from a trademark complaint by a company called iyO. OpenAI clarified that despite speculation, the partnership with Ive is still ongoing, and it's exploring options regarding the name dispute. iyO, which already sells an AI-powered 'audio computer,' claims the 'io' name infringes on their trademark. All traces of OpenAI's much-hyped hardware venture with legendary Apple designer Jony Ive have suddenly disappeared due to a court order triggered by a trademark complaint. A blog post that once sat prominently on OpenAI's website was pulled without warning, briefly showing a 404 error (h/t Max Weinbach). Naturally, this sparked speculation that the partnership between Sam Altman's OpenAI and Ive had fallen apart. But the company has since clarified that's not the case. In a notice now posted on its website, OpenAI says the blog post announcing the $6.5 billion deal between Ive's startup 'io' and OpenAI was taken down 'due to a court order following a trademark complaint from iyO about our use of the name 'io.' We don't agree with the complaint and are reviewing our options.' OpenAI The now-removed blog post from Altman and Ive stated: 'The io team, focused on developing products that inspire, empower, and enable, will now merge with OpenAI to work more intimately with the research, engineering, and product teams in San Francisco.' So who's iyO? It's a company that has already made an AI device capable of running natural language apps, think the now-defunct Humane AI Pin. The company calls its device an 'audio computer,' but at its core, it's basically an AI-powered earbud. We'll now have to wait and watch who wins the rights to the 'io' name and if OpenAI and Ive will be forced to rebrand because of the lawsuit.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
OpenAI scrubs news of Jony Ive deal amid trademark dispute
OpenAI has removed news of its deal with Jony Ive's io from its website. The takedown comes amid a trademark dispute filed by iyO, an AI hardware startup. OpenAI said it doesn't agree with the complaint and is "reviewing our options." Turns out "i" and "o" make for a popular combination of vowels in the tech industry. Sam Altman's OpenAI launched a very public partnership with io, the company owned by famed Apple designer Jony Ive, in May. The announcement included a splashy video and photos of the two of them looking like old friends. On Sunday, however, OpenAI scrubbed any mention of that partnership from its website and social media. That's because iyO, a startup spun out of Google's moonshot factory, X, and which sounds like io, is suing OpenAI, io, Altman, and Ive for trademark infringement. iyO's latest product, iyO ONE, is an "ear-worn device that uses specialized microphones and bone-conducted sound to control audio-based applications with nothing more than the user's voice," according to the suit iyO filed on June 9. The partnership between OpenAI and io, meanwhile, is rumored to be working on a similarly screen-less, voice-activated AI device. According to its deal with OpenAI, Ive's firm will lead creative direction and design at OpenAI, focusing on developing a new slate of consumer devices. When the deal was announced, neither party shared specific details about future products. However, Altman said the partnership would shape the "future of AI." iyO approached OpenAI earlier this year about a potential collaboration and funding. OpenAI declined that offer, however, and says it is now fighting the trademark lawsuit. "We don't agree with the complaint and are reviewing our options," OpenAI told Business Insider. Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
8 hours ago
- Business
- Business Insider
OpenAI scrubs news of Jony Ive deal amid trademark dispute
Sam Altman's OpenAI launched a very public partnership with io, the company owned by famed Apple designer Jony Ive, in May. The announcement included a splashy video and photos of the two of them looking like old friends. On Sunday, however, OpenAI scrubbed any mention of that partnership from its website and social media. That's because iyO, a startup spun out of Google's moonshot factory, X, and which sounds like io, is suing OpenAI, io, Altman, and Ive for trademark infringement. iyO's latest product, iyO ONE, is an "ear-worn device that uses specialized microphones and bone-conducted sound to control audio-based applications with nothing more than the user's voice," according to the suit iyO filed on June 9. The partnership between OpenAI and io, meanwhile, is rumored to be working on a similarly screen-less, voice-activated AI device. According to its deal with OpenAI, Ive's firm will lead creative direction and design at OpenAI, focusing on developing a new slate of consumer devices. When the deal was announced, neither party shared specific details about future products. However, Altman said the partnership would shape the "future of AI." iyO approached OpenAI earlier this year about a potential collaboration and funding. OpenAI declined that offer, however, and says it is now fighting the trademark lawsuit.
