In a rare interview with the Financial Times, Laurene Powell Jobs — the widow of Steve Jobs — and longtime Apple designer Sir Jony Ive reflect on their decades-long bond, the legacy of their creative work with Steve, and their latest mission: reshaping how we interact with technology in the age of artificial intelligence.
“I’m standing there, holding a model of the iMac,” Ive recalls of his first meeting with Powell Jobs in 1997, shortly after Steve returned to Apple. “It feels to me like we grew up together,” he adds. “We’ve gone through hard things and happy things…” “…family and children and work,” Powell Jobs finishes.
Now, more than a decade after Jobs’ death, Ive and Powell Jobs are working together again—this time through io, an AI design company Ive co-founded and Powell Jobs helped fund. The company was acquired by OpenAI in a $6.4 billion deal last month. While details remain scarce, the collaboration is expected to yield a new AI-powered device, potentially in a new product category.
The project is fueled by a desire to course-correct what both see as tech’s moral drift. “Many of us would say we have an uneasy relationship with technology,” said Ive. Powell Jobs pointed to rising mental health concerns and screen addiction: “We now know, unambiguously, that there are dark uses for certain types of technology.”
Though speculation surrounds the device—possibly a screenless AI assistant—Ive deflects specifics. But he hints at its motivation: “We deserve better. Humanity deserves better.” Internally, the io team worked through ideas with prototypes and sketches in what Powell Jobs described as a process of “watching something brand new be manifested. It’s a wondrous thing to behold.” Now, they’re teaming up with OpenAI’s Sam Altman.
The duo remain deeply tied to San Francisco, where LoveFrom— Ive’s minimalist design firm—operates. Powell Jobs has invested heavily in the city’s culture and institutions. “I feel I owe San Francisco,” Ive said. “I’ve benefited and learnt so much from being lucky enough to live here.”
Asked whether their new AI venture could compete with Apple, Powell Jobs was diplomatic: “I’m still very close to the leadership team. They’re really good people and I want them to succeed also.”
The new chapter is both a return to familiar ground and a step into what Powell Jobs calls “the era of the great unknown”. Let’s wait and see what kind of AI device Ive will create. Whatever it is, expect his smooth, familiar voice to narrate the reveal—coming soon.
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