OpenAI has purchased British tech tycoon Sir Jony Ive’s hardware startup, io, for a whopping £4.9bn in an all-equity deal.
The historic deal is tech giant OpenAI’s biggest-ever acquisition and brings together two household names in Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
Ive, formerly of Apple, was instrumental in the design and development of iconic products including the iPhone, iMac and iPad during his 27-year tenure there.
OpenAI will invest around £3.7bn in equity to acquire the remaining 77 per cent of io as it already held a 23 per cent stake in the company from prior collaborations.
“AI is an incredible technology, but great tools require work at the intersection of technology, design, and understanding people and the world,” said Altman.
“No one can do this like Jony and his team; the amount of care they put into every aspect of the process is extraordinary.
“What it means to use technology can change in a profound way. I hope we can bring some of the delight, wonder and creative spirit that I first felt using an Apple Computer 30 years ago.”
Ive and the creative collective LoveFrom began collaborating with Altman and the team at OpenAI two years ago.
This was a year before Ive founded io with Scott Cannon, Evans Hankey and Tang Tan.
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A joint statement from Altman and Ive on the OpenAI website read: “We gathered together the best hardware and software engineers, the best technologists, physicists, scientists, researchers and experts in product development and manufacturing. Many of us have worked closely for decades.
“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.
“As io merges with OpenAI, Jony and LoveFrom will assume deep design and creative responsibilities across OpenAI and io.
“We could not possibly be more excited.”
This acquisition marks OpenAI’s move beyond software into specialised AI hardware, signaling the potential emergence of a new class of devices designed specifically for AI-driven interactions.
It reflects the company’s continued rapid growth, following recent funding that values OpenAI at an eye-watering approximate £224bn.
Startup io has a 55-person team, some of whom are formerly of Apple, which will birth a new hardware division at OpenAI, led by Peter Welinder, VP of product at OpenAI, in San Francisco.
The two owners displayed their excitement with a 10-minute-long joint video posted on various social media platforms.
Ive added: “I have a growing sense that everything I have learned over the last 30 years has led me to this moment.
“While I am both anxious and excited about the responsibility of the substantial work ahead, I am so grateful for the opportunity to be part of such an important collaboration. The values and vision of Sam and the teams at OpenAI and io are a rare inspiration.
“I am reminded of a time, three decades ago, when I emigrated to America. As a designer, I was drawn to the exhilarating and innocent optimism of Silicon Valley, to collaborate with people driven to create amazing products that elevate humanity.”
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