OpenAI has fully acquired Io, a joint venture it cocreated last year with Jony Ive, the famed British designer behind the sleek industrial aesthetic that defined the iPhone and more than two decades of Apple products.

Well-funded and big-name partnerships often end in failure. And ex-Apple employees don’t have a great record of success.

OpenAI is acquiring Jony Ive and Sam Altman's startup, io, which will lead creative and design work for OpenAI.

OpenAI forms a new hardware division with the io team, led by Jony Ive, to develop AI-native devices, possibly launching a voice-first product as early as 2026.

Details have leaked about the device that OpenAI is developing with former Apple designer Jony Ive. OpenAI is acquiring io, the hardware-based