Report says iPhone designer Jony Ive and OpenAI’s Sam Altman are working on a top-secret AI device

Sam Altman, CEO of the company behind ChatGPT and Dall-E, is reportedly working on a top-secret AI computing project with former Apple design chief Jony Ive.

According to The New Ive, which designed the iPhone and iPad as well as other Apple products, it is working with Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, to create a new AI-powered computing device that aims to be “less socially disruptive than the iPhone.” York Times.

Details about the AI ​​device are few, but Ive and Altman have already raised funding for the project from investors including Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, according to the report. According to reports, the financing could reach up to $1 billion by the end of the year.

Behind the development of the artificial intelligence device is Ive’s design company LoveFrom, which he co-founded after leaving Apple five years ago. The company, co-founded by Mark Newson, a renowned luxury designer who worked on the Apple Watch, employs other former Apple executives, including Tang Tan, who oversaw the development of the iPhone. LoveFrom works with clients such as Airbnb and Ferrari.

Newson told the Los Angeles Times that “it’s still being determined what the product will be and when it will be released.”

According to the report, the partnership began over several dinners where Ive and Altman discussed the possibilities of generative artificial intelligence and its potential for computing devices.

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Devices powered by artificial intelligence

The concept of an AI-powered device follows the introduction of several devices this year that have yet to launch. The $700 Humane AI pin, which turns any surface, including your hand, into a mobile screen, has been met with mixed reviews, and people are reportedly returning the product in droves. The $199 Rabbit R1 mobile device, which uses artificial intelligence to perform tasks, also failed to meet expectations.

Meanwhile, companies including Google and Samsung have added generative artificial intelligence features to their phones. Just last week, the new Apple iPhone 16 devices went on sale, and Apple Intelligence features are expected to become available on them in the coming weeks and months.

However, in an age when we are so distracted by mobile devices, it may be attractive for consumers to use devices that provide a more attentive and less distracting experience.

Neither LoveFrom nor OpenAI immediately responded to a request for comment.