IO Interactive's first showcase to take place on June 6, 2025 | News-in-brief IOI Showcase will air at 6pm PDT and feature information about 007 First Light, Hitman: World of Assassination, and MindsEye Image credit: IO Interactive News by Sophie McEvoy Staff Writer Published on June 3, 2025 This is a News-in-brief article, our short format linking to an official source for more information. Read more about this story by following the link below: IO Interactive's first showcase to take place on June 6, 2025

IO has won the hype, but Apple probably doesn't need to worry yet.

Former Apple design chief Jony Ive sold his hardware startup io to OpenAI for nearly $6.5 billion. BI Illustration 2025-05-23T20:39:35Z Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Former Apple design chief Jony Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are building a mystery ChatGPT device. The interwebs have come alive with gadget guesses, renders, and memes. OpenAI is trying to challenge Apple and Google by redefining AI interaction with new hardware. Let's get something out of the way first: nobody really knows what former Apple design chief Jony Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are building.That hasn't stopped the internet from bursting at the seams with wild guesses, gorgeous renders, speculative hot takes, and a healthy dose of meme-fueled imagination.So, what is this mystery device that Ive is cooking up for OpenAI's ChatGPT? A screenless wearable? A next-gen smart assistant? A pocketable AI oracle? A glorified paperweight?Here's our roundup of the best guesses — serious, speculative, satirical, and everything in between. Thank you to my Business Insider colleagues for contributing to this Friday's fun.Serious Guesses: Industry Analyst Weighs InOK fine. We'll start with some serious ideas.TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is a credible source in the tech hardware and supply-chain space, especially when it comes to Apple. His take on the Ive-OpenAI gadget is valuable:Form Factor: Think small. Maybe iPod Shuffle-sized. Portable, minimal, and delightfully Ive-ish.Wearable: One of the use cases includes wearing it around your neck. Shades of sci-fi, Star Trek, or perhaps a Tamagotchi on steroids?No Screen: It will have cameras and mics for environmental awareness but no display. The idea is to not add another screen to our lives.Companion Device: It will connect to your smartphone or laptop for processing and visual output.Production Timeline: Mass production is expected in 2027, giving us plenty of time for more leaks, renders, and conspiracy theories.Kuo suggested on X that the announcement was timed to shift attention away from Google I/O. OpenAI positioned this as a new hardware-software narrative, riding the trend of "physical AI."He also referenced a great quote from former Apple fellow Alan Kay: "People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware." That's exactly what Altman and OpenAI are trying to do here.Clues from Altman and WSJ OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Kim Hong-Ji/REUTERS The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Altman offered OpenAI staff a preview of the devices he's building with Ive:The device was described as an AI "companion." Altman wants to ship 100 million of them on day one.It will be aware of its surroundings and fit in your pocket or sit on your desk.It's not a phone or smart glasses. Ive reportedly wasn't keen on a wearable, though the final design may still flirt with that concept.Altman said the device should be the third major object on your desk, alongside a MacBook and iPhone.There will be a "family of devices," and Altman even floated the idea of mailing subscribers new ChatGPT-powered computers.They aim to shift away from screen-based interaction and rethink what AI companionship really means in a day-to-day human context.Renders, memes, and vibesThe brilliant designer Ben Geskin imagined several cool form factors on X, including this circular disc. Geskin's ideas blend Apple-grade minimalism with futuristic whimsy, perfectly on brand for Jony Ive.Some smart glasses, because of course.A dangly dongle, equal parts techie and jewelry.Square/rectangular objects with eerie elegance.Echoing Geskin, another user on X proposed a disc-shaped device, sleek enough to pass as a high-end coaster or futuristic hockey puck. Think of it as an AI desk companion, quietly listening and gently glowing.One BI colleague mentioned a smart ChatGPT lamp, possibly inspired by "The Sopranos" episode where the FBI bugs Tony's basement. Funny, but not impossible. After all, a lamp fits Altman's desk-friendly criteria. Tony Soprano in HBO's long-running mob drama "The Sopranos." Anthony Neste/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images Another X user joked that the device could resemble those emergency pendants worn by older adults — "Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!" — but with ChatGPT instead of a nurse. A brutal meme, but it raises a valid point: If the device is meant to be always-on, context-aware, and worn, why not market it to older users, too?Although, if this is for the olds, should it use Google Gemini instead? Burn!X user Peter Hu proposed an AI-powered nail clipper. Yes, it's absurd, and no, it doesn't make sense. But the design? Low-key fire.Here's mocked up a vape pen with a ChatGPT twist. Inhale wisdom, exhale existential dread.Some of the most surreal concepts look like direct plugs into your skull. There's a "Matrix" or "Severance" vibe here, suggesting a future where ChatGPT lives in your head like a helpful parasite.This one also looks painful in a different way.This one below is cute!I asked ChatGPT to take a guess. The answer was not impressive. No wonder OpenAI paid $6.5 billion for Ive's hardware design startup. ChatGPT guesses what device Ive is designing for OpenAI. Alistair Barr/ChatGPT This last one is a Silicon Valley insider joke. It's also a warning that it's extremely hard to replace smartphones as the go-to tech gadget. It's a riff on the Humane pin, an AI device that bombed already.Can OpenAI compete with Apple and Google?This device matters beyond its shape because of what it represents. Right now, Apple and Google dominate the interface layer of computing through iOS and Android devices. If OpenAI wants to define how people interact with ChatGPT, it needs a hardware beachhead.Humane's AI pin tried and failed. The Rabbit R1 got roasted. The jury's still out on Meta's Ray-Bans. Can Ive and Altman actually crack the code?Knowing Ive, we'll probably be surprised no matter what. The real product could be something no one predicted.The race to define the next major computing interface is officially on. With Ive and Altman teaming up, OpenAI makes a major bet that how we interact with AI is just as important as what AI can do.When the curtain lifts, and Ive whispers "aluminium" in a design video, jaws will probably drop, and competitors will scramble.Until then, keep your renders weird, your guesses wild, and your brain tuned in to BI. We'll be here to cover every hilarious, ambitious, and brilliant twist along the way.See you in 2027.

OpenAI on Wednesday announced that it was paying $6.5 billion to buy io, a one-year-old start-up created by Jony Ive. While the company remains tightlipped about the futuristic AI device(s) it has in the works, Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo shared some alleged details about its design. MacRumors reports: In a social media post today, Kuo said the device will be "slightly larger" than Humane's discontinued AI Pin. He said the device will look "as compact and elegant as an iPod Shuffle," which was Apple's lowest-priced, screen-less iPod. The design of the iPod shuffle varied over the years, going from a compact rectangle to a square. Like the iPod shuffle, Kuo said OpenAI's device will not have a screen, but it would connect to smartphones and computers. The device will be equipped with microphones for voice control, and it will have cameras that can analyze the user's surroundings. He said that users will be able to wear the device around their necks, like a necklace, whereas the AI Pin can be attached to clothing with a clip. Kuo expects OpenAI's device to enter mass production in 2027, and the final design and specifications might change before then. Kuo expects OpenAI's device to enter mass production in 2027, and the final design and specifications might change before then. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, OpenAI and Jony Ive are planning a neck-worn AI device with a similar form factor to the iPod Shuffle.Former Apple designer Jony IveTF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo revealed on X that the new AI device from Jony Ive and OpenAI is expected to enter mass production in 2027. In his post, he said the prototype is slightly larger than Humane's (failed) AI Pin but remains as compact and elegant as an iPod Shuffle.The device won't include a display and is designed to be worn around the neck, using cameras and microphones for environmental awareness. It will connect to smartphones and PCs for computing power and display output, positioning it squarely in the emerging category of ambient, screenless AI. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

As OpenAI buys Jony Ive and Sam Altman's AI startup, the two have shared with staff a few hints about what their highly secret device will do.Jony IveAfter weeks of speculation, OpenAI has bought Jony Ive and Sam Altman's AI startup for $6.5 billion. Publicly, OpenAI has posted a video discussing Ive and Altman's partnership in general, but now further details of their work has been revealed.According to the Washington Post, Altman told OpenAI staff in a meeting on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, that the aim is to ship 100 million AI "companions." He described it as "the chance to do the biggest thing we've ever done as a company here." Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. OpenAI acquires Jony Ive's startup to focus on AI-first hardware Pradeep Viswanathan Neowin @pradeepviswav · May 21, 2025 15:54 EDT Jony Ive is a renowned designer in the technology industry and led the Apple design teams responsible for the wildly popular iPhone, MacBook, Apple Watch, and others. His designs have been described as integral to the successes of Apple’s products over the years. He left Apple in 2019 and started an independent design firm named LoveFrom. In 2024, Ive and a few others created a new startup called io exploring hardware designs for the AI world and also began collaborating with OpenAI. Later in 2024, OpenAI's startup fund made an investment in io and also extended its investment to own about 23% of io. Today, OpenAI announced that it is acquiring Ive's io in a $6.5 billion all-stock deal. According to WSJ, io has a staff of around 55 engineers, scientists, researchers, physicists, and product development specialists. Jony Ive and his team will work on AI hardware, and their work is expected to be made public in 2026. In addition, this new team will assume deep design and creative responsibilities across OpenAI and io. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the following regarding the io acquisition: “AI is an incredible technology, but great tools require work at the intersection of technology, design, and understanding people and the world. No one can do this like Jony and his team; the amount of care they put into every aspect of the process is extraordinary.” Jony Ive said the following about joining OpenAI: “I have a growing sense that everything I have learned over the last 30 years has led me to this moment. While I am both anxious and excited about the responsibility of the substantial work ahead, I am so grateful for the opportunity to be part of such an important collaboration. The values and vision of Sam and the teams at OpenAI and io are a rare inspiration.” This acquisition highlights OpenAI's ambition towards integrating hardware design with its advanced AI research, potentially developing AI-native devices. Tags Report a problem with article Follow @NeowinFeed