Sir Jony Ive, the designer behind the iPhone and some of Apple’s most iconic devices, is joining OpenAI in a major partnership following the company’s $6.5 billion acquisition of io, an AI hardware startup he co-founded.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced the news Wednesday, calling Ive the “greatest designer in the world” and emphasizing the partnership’s potential to reshape personal computing. Ive will lead design and creative direction across OpenAI, taking a central role in the company’s hardware ambitions.
The collaboration marks a shift for OpenAI, known primarily for its AI software tools like ChatGPT. Altman said he hopes the partnership with Ive will lead to a “new generation of AI-powered computers.”
The legendary designer behind Apple’s iPhone, Jony Ive, has joined OpenAI to create devices tailored for using generative artificial intelligence, according to a video posted Wednesday by the ChatGPT maker.
Ive and his team will take over design at OpenAI as part of an… pic.twitter.com/zAu5NgAr1w
— KUWAIT TIMES (@kuwaittimesnews) May 21, 2025
In a video released with the announcement, he said he had already tested an early prototype, describing it as “the coolest piece of technology that the world will have ever seen.”
Ive echoed that excitement, stating the first device under development has “captured our imagination.” He added that the world is nearing a new era of technological transformation.
According to both companies, LoveFrom has collaborated with OpenAI discreetly for the past two years. That relationship led to the creation of io, a startup co-founded by Ive in 2023. OpenAI had a 23% stake in the firm before the acquisition.
Jony Ive formerly of Apple and Open AI form IO and will offer an array of new AI devices.
Jony is a design genius and I am expecting something grand from him.
I hold out hope that privacy, ownership and local will rule the day.
Interesting times…pic.twitter.com/hPylgPVBwh
— Brian Roemmele (@BrianRoemmele) May 21, 2025
“It became clear that our ambitions to develop, engineer and manufacture a new family of products demanded an entirely new company,” Ive and Altman said in a joint statement.
Sir Jony Ive spent nearly three decades at Apple, helping lead its design revival through products such as the iMac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad. He left the company in 2019 to form LoveFrom, which has since partnered with brands including Airbnb and Moncler.
At his departure, Apple CEO Tim Cook praised him as “a singular figure in the design world.” Apple’s stock dropped more than 2% following the announcement of his new role at OpenAI.
Efforts to create consumer hardware built around AI have struggled in recent years. Devices like the AI Pin, developed by Humane AI, founded by former Apple employees, faced criticism for battery life, overheating, and limited features.
Analysts say the new partnership could give OpenAI an edge. It would be “foolish to bet against Jony Ive,” said Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight. “OpenAI would love to have a direct relationship with its customers rather than delivering services via devices made by or powered by Apple, Google, or others.”
Justin McGuirk of the UK’s Design Museum agreed. “If OpenAI want to take AI-based hardware to market, especially at a time when many are sceptical about the need for such things, it’s going to have to be incredibly good,” he said. “Ive’s name will boost confidence and keep the hype machine rolling.”
