It is one of those moments that, many years later, one would recall with both nostalgia and awe and say, ‘Yes, that’s when it all started.’ For many, that moment was when Steve Jobs met

Steve Wozniak, and from a garage, started Apple. But for the present generation, that historic, almost seismic moment could very well be the coming together of OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman, and

legendary Apple designer, Jony Ive.

As per the joint statement, which was shared on OpenAI’s website on May 21, the ChatGPT-maker is acquiring io, the hardware start-up founded by Ive after his much-publicised departure from

“This is an extraordinary moment,” reads the joint statement issued by Altman and Ive. “Computers are now seeing, thinking and understanding. Despite this unprecedented capability, our

experience remains shaped by traditional products and interfaces.”

The partnership between Altman and Ive began in secrecy back in 2023, built, as they describe, “upon friendship, curiosity and shared values.” Over time, their tentative ideas evolved into

“tangible designs” and eventually into a company: io — a hardware venture launched by Ive in 2024 alongside Apple veterans Scott Cannon, Evans Hankey, and Tang Tan.

In just over a year, io assembled an elite team of 55 engineers, physicists, and product developers, with many who had worked with Ive at Apple. And the vision behind the company was simple:

to build something entirely new.

“The ideas seemed important and useful,” the joint statement continues. “They made everyone smile. They reminded us of a time when we celebrated human achievement.”

Now, with OpenAI acquiring the remaining 77% of io (it already held a 23% stake), the two entities are fusing their ambitions.

As per news reports, all of io’s staff will join OpenAI, where they will work closely with the AI giant’s engineering, research and design teams in San Francisco. As per a report from

Reuters, OpenAI is expected to name Jony Ive as creative head. However, Ive may also continue to run his independent design studio, LoveFrom.

OpenAI’s success has been, until now, entirely software-driven. Since the blockbuster launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, the company, which was founded way back in 2015 and has been backed

massively by Microsoft, has now become synonymous with generative AI.

But the interfaces used to access these tools remain locked in paradigms built for a pre-AI world: screens, apps, and taps.

As Altman says in his statement post-acquisition, it is increasingly clear that for Gen AI to transform itself and to take the next big leap, it has to now be a seamless marriage between

technology and design.

“AI is an incredible technology,” he said, “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,” said Altman.

In short, if AI is the brain, what it is in most need of now is the body, one that is designed from scratch to speak the language of the machines.

So, what kind of products might emerge? Neither company has confirmed specifics, but industry speculation ranges from ambient computing devices to AI-native wearables — hardware that doesn’t

require a screen to be useful, that responds to natural language, gestures, and even emotions.

For Ive, this moment is deeply personal. After nearly three decades at Apple, where he led the design of the iMac, iPod, iPhone, and Apple Watch, he left in 2019 to form LoveFrom, a studio

that many assumed would pursue artful side projects, not billion-dollar hardware moonshots.

But the announcement reveals that the fire never dimmed. “I have a growing sense that everything I have learned over the last 30 years has led me to this moment,” Ive said. “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.”

He added a note of nostalgia: “I am reminded of a time, three decades ago, when I emigrated to America. As a designer, I was drawn to the exhilarating and innocent optimism of Silicon

Valley, to collaborate with people driven to create amazing products that elevate humanity.”

That idealism has found a match in Altman, whose approach to AI, despite criticism and controversy, remains anchored in a belief that these tools can profoundly uplift human potential. Their

partnership is not just a merger of companies; it’s a meeting of philosophies.

As Altman and Ive write: “Our ambitions to develop, engineer and manufacture a new family of products demanded an entirely new company.” That company was io. Now, it’s part of OpenAI — and

the responsibility for delivering on those ambitions lies with them.