Latest news with #LoveFrom
Hans India
6 days ago
- Business
- Hans India
OpenAI Finalises Acquisition of Jony Ive's io to Develop AI Hardware
OpenAI has completed its much-anticipated acquisition of io Products Inc., the hardware startup co-founded by the legendary former Apple designer Jony Ive. Valued at nearly $6.5 billion, the deal marks OpenAI's significant push to integrate its ChatGPT AI technology with dedicated hardware devices. The news was confirmed in an updated blog post on Wednesday after OpenAI had to temporarily remove its original announcement due to a trademark dispute with Iyo, a hearing device company spun out of Google's moonshot factory. The announcement now clarifies: 'We're thrilled to share that the io Products, Inc. team has officially merged with OpenAI. Jony Ive and LoveFrom remain independent and have assumed deep design and creative responsibilities across OpenAI.' Although the company initially promoted the acquisition with a video featuring OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Ive, the clip remains offline due to the ongoing legal issue. OpenAI says the newly integrated io team will work closely with its research, engineering, and product divisions in San Francisco to develop AI-powered products designed to 'inspire, empower and enable.' The io Products, Inc. deal has officially closed and we're thrilled to welcome the team to Ive & LoveFrom remain independent. They'll have deep design & creative responsibilities across — OpenAI (@OpenAI) July 9, 2025 By merging io's hardware expertise with its advanced AI, OpenAI aims to push the boundaries of how people interact with AI in everyday devices—while leaning on Jony Ive's iconic design vision to shape this next chapter.
Engadget
7 days ago
- Business
- Engadget
OpenAI and Jony Ive's startup seal the deal
OpenAI's deal with Jony Ive's startup is a done deal. Ive's io has officially merged with the ChatGPT maker in a deal reportedly worth $6.5 billion. The companies announced the purchase in May. Jony Ive and his LoveFrom design studio remain independent. Meanwhile, io's co-founders, Scott Cannon, Evans Hankey and Tang Tan, are now OpenAI employees. (Around 50 other io engineers, designers and researchers are, too.) OpenAI and Ive are currently working on "a family of AI products for everyone." In May, Sam Altman and Ive dropped some hints about what to expect from their first product. They said it will be unobtrusive, portable and fully aware of its surroundings and the user's actions. It reportedly won't be a phone or a pair of glasses, which were likely the first two guesses for most people. For the uninitiated, Ive was a trusted collaborator and confidant of Steve Jobs during the creative explosion that produced some of the most influential tech products ever made. Ive left Apple in 2019 to form LoveFrom. He and Apple parted ways three years later.
The Verge
7 days ago
- Business
- The Verge
OpenAI closes its deal to buy Jony Ive's io and build AI hardware
OpenAI has officially closed its nearly $6.5 billion acquisition of io, the hardware startup co-founded by famed former Apple designer Jony Ive, the company announced Wednesday. But it was careful to only refer to the startup as io Products Inc. The blog post initially announcing the acquisition was also scrubbed from OpenAI's website due to a trademark lawsuit from Iyo, the hearing device startup spun out of Google's moonshot factory. Now it's back up, with a new note: 'We're thrilled to share that the io Products, Inc. team has officially merged with OpenAI. Jony Ive and LoveFrom remain independent and have assumed deep design and creative responsibilities across OpenAI.' OpenAI originally announced the deal and plans to create dedicated AI hardware, with a video on social media featuring its CEO, Sam Altman, and Ive. That video has been scrubbed from its website and social media channels due to the lawsuit and has not returned. '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,' the blog post states.
Time of India
09-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Tim Cook to take direct control of Apple's design team
Tim Cook Apple CEO Tim Cook is about to get his hands on one of the company's most prized assets: its design team. Starting later this year, Cook will directly oversee the group responsible for creating those sleek iPhones, elegant MacBooks, and everything else that makes Apple products instantly recognizable. The shake-up is part of a carefully orchestrated leadership transition. COO Jeff Williams , who's been running operations since 2015, is passing the torch to Sabih Khan , Apple's senior vice president of Operations, later this month. But Williams isn't disappearing just yet, he'll hang around through the end of 2025, keeping an eye on the design team, Apple Watch, and the company's health initiatives before calling it a career. Cook steps in as Apple redesigns everything The transition follows years of upheaval in Apple's design hierarchy. When legendary design chief Jony Ive left Apple in 2019 to start his own company, LoveFrom, Williams stepped up to fill the void. At the time, Evans Hankey took over as head of hardware design while Alan Dye continued leading human interface design, both reporting to Williams. But the design team's leadership structure remained unsettled. Hankey departed Apple in 2023 and is now working with Ive and OpenAI on a mysterious hardware project. Rather than replace her, Apple eliminated the industrial design chief role entirely, consolidating all design responsibilities under Williams. The timing couldn't be more interesting. Under Williams' watch, the team has worked on major projects including the Apple Watch development and the company's ambitious health initiatives. And now Apple is working on bringing out its biggest software design overhaul in over a decade, the " Liquid Glass ," a new interface that brings transparency and fluidity across all Apple devices. Now, with Williams heading toward retirement, Cook is stepping in to personally guide the team responsible for Apple's product aesthetics. For Apple watchers, this is more than just a personnel shuffle, it's Cook putting his personal stamp, and his direct involvement signals just how crucial design remains to Apple's DNA. The CEO, who built his reputation on operations and supply chain mastery, will now have his hands on the creative steering wheel during what many consider a pivotal moment for the company. AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Evening Standard
08-06-2025
- Business
- Evening Standard
Rotten Apple: are we finally watching the death of the iPhone?
While panic ripples through Apple, Sir Jony Ive — inventor of its flagship products from the iMac to the iPod, iPhone and Apple Watch — has risen up with an alternative answer elsewhere. Ive left Apple in 2019 to start his own design firm, LoveFrom, with the help of Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Steve Jobs, who was an early investor. On May 21 came the announcement that OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, had acquired Ive's AI design start-up, io — in which Powell Jobs has also invested — in a deal worth $6.4 billion. News then broke that Ive and Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, are working together to develop a new AI device, called a 'companion'.
