In late December 2023, Patently Apple posted a rumor report titled "Apple's VP of iPhone and Apple Watch Design is set to Join Jony Ive and Open AI's Sam Altman on a 2024 AI Device Project." Then in September 2024 we posted a follow-up report titled “Jonathan Ive & OpenAI's Secret Generative AI Device Plan is moving forward as they seek to raise $1Billion for the project.” It was noted in that report that "legendary designer Jony Ive and OpenAI’s Sam Altman were enlisting Apple's VP of iPhone and Apple Watch product design, Tang Yew T., to work on a new artificial intelligence hardware project, aiming to create devices with the latest capabilities."

Today, The Information has posted a report titled “OpenAI Has Discussed Buying Jony Ive and Sam Altman’s AI Device Startup.” OpenAI is said to have discussed acquiring the AI hardware startup that former Apple design lead Jony Ive is building with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. According to The Information, OpenAI could pay around $500 million for the fledgling company, called io Products.

The Information’s report notes that OpenAI may end up partnering with instead of acquiring 'io Products,' which currently has a small team that includes former Apple designers Tang Tan and Evans Hankey. io Products has reportedly been working on different concepts of AI-enabled devices, including smart home gadgets.

Wccftech noted in their report today that “If everything goes well, OpenAI will put itself in direct competition with Apple with its iPhone and Apple Intelligence integration.”Then again if the “io Products” device isn’t a phone, then I’m not quite sure how it would be seen as being in direct competition with Apple.

The news seems incomplete. In June 2024 OpenAI stated in a press release that “Apple is integrating ChatGPT into experiences within iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, allowing users to access ChatGPT’s capabilities—including image and document understanding—without needing to jump between tools. In addition, Laurene Powell Jobs invested in the 'io Products' startup. So why would Laurene Powell Jobs invest in a company that would directly compete with Apple? There seems to be something that the reports are missing for this to makes sense.   

When filing for the Open AI trademark in January 2025, as noted in USPTO image in-part above, the company’s legal team filed it under six International Classes that included 009 which randomly added hardware such as “earphones; headphones; sunglasses; laptop cases; mobile phone cases; smart watches; smart bands; smart jewelry; wearable computers; wearable cameras; digital media streaming devices; virtual and augmented reality headsets, goggles, glasses, controllers, and remotes.” Review the full Class 009 details below. 

(Click on image to Enlarge)

While that would seem to be overkill, it leaves the door wide open for their hardware team to deliver any device so described in their filing. Of course while smartglasses or AI glasses would be a great natural starting point to take on Ray-Ban Meta glasses, it remains an “open” question.