Novel AI hardware: OpenAI project with former Apple designer Jony Ive moves forward

Famed Apple designer Jony Ive and OpenAI's Sam Altman are teaming up with outgoing Apple designer Tang Tan to develop a new AI hardware project.

Tan will join Ive's design firm LoveFrom to lead hardware development for the project, Bloomberg reports. Altman and OpenAI will provide the software framework.

Tang Tan most recently led product design for the iPhone and Apple Watch at Apple. Previously, Shota Aoyagi, a member of Ive's former Apple industrial design team, had already joined Ive's new company, LoveFrom.

The project, which is still in its early stages, will be one of Ive's most ambitious projects since leaving Apple in 2019, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter.

LoveFrom will be responsible for the design and features of the new product. The project is currently in the concept and team-building phase. The goal is to create a new company for the new AI hardware.

Sam Altman diversifies OpenAI

In late September 2023, The Information and the Financial Times first reported on the collaboration between Sam Altman, OpenAI, and Jon Ive.

The goal is to develop the "iPhone of AI" for consumers. The project, which is to be funded by Japanese conglomerate SoftBank with more than a billion dollars, aims to create a revolutionary device with a natural and intuitive user experience that focuses on voice interaction rather than screen time.

A successful foray into consumer electronics could strengthen OpenAI's position in the competitive AI market, where companies like Meta, Google, and Apple are already offering AI-powered devices with voice-enabled assistants and increasingly capable language models.

OpenAI is also considering entering the AI chip business.