OpenAI is buying Jony Ive’s AI hardware startup, io, in a $6.5 billion all-stock deal—its biggest move yet into consumer tech.

And it’s not just a flex—this partnership could reshape what AI hardware actually looks and feels like.

Jony Ive, the industrial design legend behind the iPhone, iPod, and Apple Watch, is teaming up with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to build something new—something we haven’t seen before.

Their still-unnamed product line is already in the works and slated to debut in 2026.

The acquisition brings about 55 engineers and designers from io under the OpenAI umbrella, forming a dedicated unit for building AI-powered hardware.

The move signals more than just expansion.

For OpenAI, it’s about owning the full experience—from the model to the machine.

For Ive, it’s a return to the world he helped define, this time designing for a world led by generative AI instead of mobile-first interfaces.

Apple, meanwhile, watches from the sidelines. While it was once the definitive force in design-led tech, its recent AI offerings have lagged behind Google, Microsoft, and now, OpenAI.

Even its anticipated AI integrations in iOS 18 lean heavily on—you guessed it—ChatGPT.

Ive hinted that today’s devices feel stale and uninspired. “People have an appetite for something new,” he said. It’s a quiet burn aimed at an industry that’s grown comfortable recycling the same form factors.

If OpenAI and Ive deliver on their vision, this could be more than just another gadget drop—it could be the moment hardware starts feeling like software again. Watch for the deal to close by summer 2025.