Jony Ive and Sam Altman are working on an AI-powered device
Former Apple designer Jony Ive has confirmed that he is working with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on a project to develop an AI-powered device.
The confirmation came in a report published by the New York Times, nearly a year after initial reports indicated a possible collaboration between Altman and Ive, who is known for his distinctive designs for Apple devices.
Details about the project are still scarce, but reports indicate that Ive met Altman through Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb.
The project is being funded by Eve and Emerson Collective, a company run by Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs. The New York Times estimated the project could raise as much as $1 billion by the end of the year, without mentioning Masayoshi Son, the chief executive of SoftBank, who was reported last year to have invested $1 billion in the project.
The project currently has a small team of 10 employees, including Tang Tan and Evans Hankey, two prominent figures who previously worked with Ive on the design of the iPhone.
LoveFrom, a company Ive founded, is leading the design of the device, and the team operates out of a 32,000-square-foot office in San Francisco, part of a $90 million real estate portfolio Ive acquired on a single city block.
As for the device itself, the report said that Eve and Altman discussed how generative AI could pave the way for the development of a new computing device with advanced capabilities to meet complex demands, beyond the traditional capabilities of software.
It was rumored last year that the design was inspired by the foldable screen technology and the original iPhone, but no specific details were mentioned.
With discussions ongoing, the final details of the device don’t appear to be finalized yet. LoveFrom co-founder Marc Newson told The New York Times that the AI-powered product and its market launch timing are still under consideration.