Overview

• OpenAI has agreed to acquire io, an AI hardware startup co-founded by Jony Ive, in an all-stock deal valued at nearly $6.5 billion, its largest acquisition to date.
• Jony Ive’s design firm LoveFrom will remain independent but will oversee design and creative responsibilities across OpenAI and io.
• The acquisition adds 55 engineers, including former Apple executives, to OpenAI’s San Francisco-based team, accelerating its hardware development efforts.
• The merged teams are working on entirely new AI-powered devices, with the first products expected to launch in 2026, though specific details remain undisclosed.
• The deal is pending regulatory approval and is expected to close this summer, marking a significant shift for OpenAI from software to consumer hardware.