OpenAI is buying io, an AI device startup founded by iPhone designer Jony Ive, in a $6.5 billion all-stock deal as OpenAI attempts to define the AI-powered devices market. OpenAI acquired a 23% stake in io last year and invested in the startup at that time.
The acquisition is the largest in OpenAI’s history and was announced on Wednesday, mere weeks after OpenAI agreed to buy AI-assisted coding tool Windsurf for about $3 billion. The deal is intended to spark a new generation of products for a future where AI technology attains or surpasses human intelligence.
As part of the acquisition, Ive and his team of about 55 engineers, designers, and