Jony Ive collaborates with Sam Altman on new AI hardware project: Details

The specifics of the AI product and its launch timing are reportedly still being determined

Jony Ive, who resigned from his designer role at Apple five years ago, is collaborating with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on an AI hardware project. This collaboration was confirmed today in a profile of Ive in The New York Times, nearly a year after initial reports suggested a partnership between Altman and the longtime Apple designer. The profile describes the goal as creating “a product that uses A.I. to deliver a computing experience that is less socially disruptive than the iPhone.”

The venture is being funded by Ive and the Emerson Collective, Laurene Powell Jobs’ company. According to The Times, the project is expected to raise $1 billion in funding by the end of the year.

The project currently has only 10 employees, including Tang Tan and Evans Hankey, two key figures who collaborated with Ive on the iPhone. According to the report, LoveFrom, Ive’s company, is leading the device's design. The team is reportedly working from a 32,000-square-foot office building in San Francisco, part of a $90 million strip of real estate that Ive has acquired on a single city block.

Marc Newson, cofounder of LoveFrom, told The Times that the specifics of the AI product and its launch timing are still being determined, reports The Verge. Previous rumours suggested that the product would be inspired by the original iPhone and touchscreen technology.

Jony Ive joined Apple in 1992 and designed the first iPhone. As chief design officer, he was responsible for all hardware, user interface, and packaging design, as well as major architectural projects like Apple Park and Apple retail stores. He led the design team for over two decades, creating the iMac, PowerBook, MacBook, iBook, iPod, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, AirPods, and HomePod.