[News] OpenAI and Jony Ive’s First AI Device Leaked: Reportedly No Wearables, Launch No Earlier Than 2026

A month after OpenAI announced its $6.5 billion acquisition of io, the AI hardware startup co-founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive, new details about their first product have surfaced—via an unexpected source. According to legal filings cited by TechCrunch, the upcoming device won’t be an “in-ear” or “wearable” gadget.

Notably, as per TechCrunch, Tang Tan, former longtime Apple executive and now chief hardware officer at io, stated in a court declaration that the design is still in progress and the product is at least a year away from being marketed or sold.

Details of the product, according to TechCrunch, have been disclosed through a case filed by iyO, a Google-backed startup developing custom in-ear devices, which accuses OpenAI of trademark infringement.

According to the Guardian, following the complaint, OpenAI removed promotional materials—including a video featuring Jony Ive and Sam Altman discussing the acquisition of io. OpenAI said the trademark dispute over the name “io” does not affect the acquisition itself, the report adds.

The TechCrunch report notes that court filings in the lawsuit reveal that over the past year, OpenAI and former Apple executives at io have been exploring in-ear hardware—buying dozens of headphone models and even meeting with iyO to demo their own tech. Despite that, their first device may be something entirely different from headphones.

As previously reported by the Wall Street Journal, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman described the device as a compact, screen-free “AI companion” designed to sit on a desk or slip into a pocket—not to be worn. Altman also aims to eventually ship up to 100 million units, with the move expected to add $1 trillion in value to OpenAI, the report suggested.

As CNBC highlighted, OpenAI has been advancing its hardware ambitions. In November 2024, it brought on the former head of Meta’s Orion AR glasses project to lead its robotics and consumer hardware initiatives. That same month, it also invested in San Francisco–based robotics startup Physical Intelligence, as per CNBC.

Read more

• [News] OpenAI Reportedly to Finalize In-House AI Chip Design Soon, Set for TSMC’s 3nm Production
• [News] OpenAI Acquires Startup Co-Founded by Apple Design Icon Jony Ive in Ambitious AI Hardware Push

(Photo credit: OpenAI)