Jony Ive is a designer who served as Chief Design Officer at Apple from 2011 to 2019 and later co-founded io, a consumer AI hardware startup acquired by OpenAI in May 2025.
Background
At Apple, Ive led the design of products including the iMac, iPod, iPhone, iPad, MacBook, and Apple Watch, as well as the Apple Park campus. He held the role of Chief Design Officer from 2011 until his departure in 2019.
io and the OpenAI acquisition
Ive co-founded io, a consumer hardware startup, with OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman. On May 21, 2025, OpenAI acquired io for approximately $6.5 billion in an all-equity deal. The acquisition was described as one of the largest design-talent and consumer-hardware acquihires in Silicon Valley history.
On May 22, 2025, Altman and Ive introduced io publicly, presenting it under an "The Anti iPhone" framing. Coverage the same day noted what TechCrunch characterized as a "victory lap" by investors Sutter Hill and the Klarna chief executive, reflecting investor profit on the deal (Source: TechCrunch, May 22, 2025). On June 23, 2025, court filings reported by TechCrunch revealed early work by OpenAI and io on an AI device (Source: TechCrunch, June 23, 2025).
Commentary held that Ive's attachment to OpenAI gives the company a consumer-hardware design lineage and a competitive position against Apple (consumer distribution and design), Meta (Ray-Ban devices), and Humane (whose AI Pin failed), and positions OpenAI as a potential consumer-device platform by 2026 and beyond rather than only an AI-model company.
Relationships
- co-founded: io (now part of OpenAI)
- prior-role: Apple (2011–2019 CDO)
- related: Sam Altman, Tim Cook, planned AI Hardware Devices.
Sources
- "OpenAI acquires io, Jony Ive's consumer hardware startup, for $6.5 billion" (May 21, 2025)
- Sam & Jony introduce io — YouTube / The Anti iPhone (May 22, 2025)