OpenAI has acquired Jony Ive's AI devices startup io for approximately £4.76billion in an all-equity deal, marking the company's largest acquisition to date.
The deal will see Ive taking on "deep creative and design responsibilities across OpenAI and io," according to a statement.
While io is being brought in-house, Ive's "creative collective" called LoveFrom will remain independent.
In a joint blog post, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Ive revealed that io was founded a year ago by Ive alongside Apple alumni Scott Cannon, Tang Tan and Evans Hankey.
OpenAI has acquired Jony Ive's AI devices startup io for approximately £4.76bn in an all-equity deal, marking the company's largest acquisition to date
Getty
The post stated: "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."
Ive is renowned as the designer behind Apple's most iconic products, including the iPod, iPhone, iPad and MacBook Air.
He also helped design Apple's Cupertino headquarters, Apple Park.
He announced his departure from Apple in 2019, where he had served as chief design officer, to start LoveFrom with designer Marc Newson.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Jony Ive is renowned as the designer behind Apple's most iconic products, including the iPod, iPhone, iPad and MacBook Air
Getty
The New York Times reported last year that LoveFrom's clients pay up to £149million annually, with its designers working on projects for Christie's, Airbnb and Ferrari.
Altman wrote on X that he believes Ive is "the greatest designer in the world."
OpenAI said it's paying £3.73bn in the transaction, as it already owns 23 per cent of the company.
The acquisition comes weeks after OpenAI agreed to buy AI-assisted coding tool Windsurf for £2.24bn and analytics database company Rockset for an undisclosed sum earlier in 2024.
OpenAi CEO Sam Altman and Ive revealed that io was founded a year ago
ReutersOpenAI, recently valued at £223.5bn in a funding round led by SoftBank, is racing to maintain its lead in the generative AI market against competitors including Google, Anthropic and Elon Musk's xAI.
To bolster its hardware ambitions, OpenAI hired Caitlin "CK" Kalinowski, former head of Meta's augmented reality glasses initiative, in November to lead its robotics and consumer hardware efforts.
The company has also invested in Physical Intelligence, a San Francisco-based robot startup that raised £298m at a £1.79bn valuation, with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos among other investors.
