Jonathan Ive, who designed Apple's iPhone and other major products, acknowledges that he is working with OpenAI to develop AI devices.

Jonathan Ive, the designer known for designing major Apple products such as the iMac, MacBook, iPod, iPhone, and iPad, has acknowledged that he is working with AI company OpenAI to develop a new device.

Inside Jony Ive's Life After Apple and His LoveFrom Design Business - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/21/technology/jony-ive-apple-lovefrom.html

Jony Ive confirms he's working on a new device with OpenAI - The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/21/24250867/jony-ive-confirms-collaboration-openai-hardware

Ive is one of the world's best designers, having been responsible for the design of Apple's major products. After the death of Apple's legendary leader Steve Jobs, he was expected to lead the company . However, Ive left Apple in 2019 and launched his own design company, LoveFrom . After founding LoveFrom, Ive signed a consulting contract with Apple and was involved in the company's product development, but this contract will end in 2022. Apple and Ive have finally parted ways.

If you're interested in why Ive decided to leave Apple, check out the following article, which provides details on the matter:

Why did Jonathan Ive, who served as Apple's chief design officer, leave Apple? - GIGAZINE

It was first reported in September 2023 that Ive was developing AI-related hardware with OpenAI, which develops chat AI such as ChatGPT. According to the report, SoftBank's Masayoshi Son is also involved, but few details were revealed.

OpenAI's Sam Altman and iPhone designer Jonathan Ive met to discuss new AI hardware, SoftBank's Masayoshi Son may also be involved - GIGAZINE

Later, in April 2024, it was reported that Ive and OpenAI were again working together to develop an 'AI-powered personal device.' According to this, Ive and OpenAI aim to raise at least $1 billion (about 140 billion yen) and develop AI-powered personal devices.

Former Apple designer Jonathan Ive and OpenAI's Sam Altman are reportedly planning to raise 1.5 billion yen to develop 'AI-powered personal devices' - GIGAZINE

by • glub • and TechCrunch

According to past reports, Ive met OpenAI CEO Sam Altman through Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky and is reportedly raising funding from Emerson Collective, a venture capital firm founded by entrepreneur Laurene Powell Jobs.

In an interview published by The New York Times on September 21, 2024 local time, Ive acknowledged that he is working on developing a product in collaboration with OpenAI. However, Ive did not mention Masayoshi Son of SoftBank, who is rumored to have invested $1 billion in the project.

According to Ive, LoveFrom is leading the AI hardware development project and is also responsible for the design. Ten employees are working on the project, including Tang Tan and Evans Hankey, who worked with Ive on the development of the iPhone. The development team is working out of a 32,000-square-foot (about 3,000 square meters) office building in San Francisco, USA, which is part of the real estate that Ive purchased for $90 million (about 13 billion yen).

According to the report, Ive and Altman discussed how generative AI technology could process complex requests and do more for users than traditional software, making it possible to create new computing devices.

However, at the time of writing, few concrete details have been decided, and LoveFrom co-founder Mark Newson told The New York Times that 'we are still considering when the AI product will be available on the market.'