Former Apple chief design officer Jony Ive has recently confirmed his involvement in a project with OpenAI. Working with CEO Sam Altman, Ive is said to be working on an artificial intelligence hardware project funded by Ive and the Emerson Collective.
In a recent profile conducted by The New York Times, Ive is confirmed to have involvement with Altman and his company OpenAI. The project is said to be looking to secure funding of upwards of $1 billion USD (around $1.3 billion CAD), by the end of the year.
Unfortunately, it’s yet to be known what Ive and OpenAI may be working on. It’s said that this new AI hardware venture is in its early days. Only 10 employees are on staff to help Ive. This includes former Apple designers Tang Tan and Evans Hankey. The two former Apple designers have worked closely with Ive on the iPhone. Ive’s LoveForm design firm is confined to working on the design of this new piece of hardware.
Ive’s partnership with Altman is said to be a product of a discussion regarding the potential of generative AI and the potential it brings to new types of devices. Ive believes that AI’s ability to handle complex requests is enough to explore new possibilities in computing. He believes that by innovating on traditional hardware, this new venture can lead to new user experiences.
It’ll likely be a while before we hear more concrete news about what Ive and his team are working on. However, those who are part of the AI project are said to be working in a 32,000-square-foot office building in San Francisco. The building is a part of a $90 million USD (roughly $121 CAD) real estate acquisition made by Ive.
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