OpenAI announced on Wednesday that it is acquiring io, the AI devices startup founded by renowned designer Jony Ive, in an all-stock deal valued at approximately $6.4 billion.
This marks OpenAI’s largest acquisition to date and signals the company’s significant expansion into hardware.
The deal includes OpenAI’s existing 23% stake in io, with $5 billion paid as part of this transaction. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman described Ive as “the greatest designer in the world” and highlighted the strategic importance of the acquisition.
Founded just a year ago by Ive alongside Apple veterans Scott Cannon, Tang Tan and Evans Hankey—who briefly succeeded Ive as Apple’s chief design officer—io will now be integrated into OpenAI’s operations.
Ive is expected to take on deep creative and design responsibilities across both OpenAI and io, while his creative collective, LoveFrom, remains independent.
In a joint blog post, Altman and Ive said the io team will work more closely with OpenAI’s research, engineering and product teams based in San Francisco to develop products that “inspire, empower and enable.”
The acquisition follows OpenAI’s recent $3 billion purchase of AI-assisted coding tool Windsurf, and its 2024 acquisition of analytics database company Rockset.
These moves underscore OpenAI’s ambition to broaden its capabilities beyond software and into physical AI devices.
Jony Ive is celebrated for his role as Apple’s former chief design officer, where he was responsible for creating some of the company’s most iconic products, including the iPod, iPhone, iPad and MacBook Air.
He also contributed to the design of Apple Park, the company’s Cupertino headquarters.
OpenAI’s push into hardware coincides with intense competition in the generative AI sector, with rivals such as Google, Anthropic and Elon Musk’s xAI investing heavily in new technologies.
To support its hardware initiatives, OpenAI recently hired Caitlin “CK” Kalinowski, former head of Meta’s Orion augmented reality glasses project, to lead robotics and consumer hardware efforts.
In addition, OpenAI invested in San Francisco-based robot startup Physical Intelligence in November, which develops AI models and algorithms to power robots.
The startup recently raised $400 million in funding, including from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
With the io acquisition, OpenAI is positioning itself to be a major player in both AI software and hardware innovation.
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