OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and former Apple design chief Jony Ive have officially teamed up to design an AI-powered personal device and are seeking funding, reports The Information.
Little is known about the AI device at this time, but it won’t look like a smartphone. Altman is a major investor in the Humane AI pin, a wearable AI device that does not have a screen, so it’s possible he will create a similar product with Ive.
News of a possible partnership between Ive and Altman first surfaced last fall, but talks were in the early stages and nothing was official then. Ive and Altman’s unnamed startup is now sourcing funds from major venture capitalists, with Ive aiming to raise up to $1 billion in funding.
OpenAI could own a piece of the business, and the duo has also been in talks with SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son. Potential investors include Thrive Capital, an OpenAI investor, and Emerson Collective, a venture capital firm and philanthropic organization founded by Laurene Powell Jobs.
Ive left his role as Apple design chief in 2019, and while he still worked with the Cupertino company as a consultant for several years after through his firm LoveFrom, Ive and Apple stopped working together entirely in 2022.
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