OpenAI, ex-Apple designer Jony Ive in talks with SoftBank’s Son to raise $1 bn to build ‘iPhone of AI’

OpenAI has tapped Ive’s company LoveFrom to develop the ChatGPT creator’s first consumer device, the report said.

According to the report, talks are said to be “serious” but no deal has been agreed on, and it could be several months before a venture is formally announced.

OpenAI’s chief Sam Altman, Ive and Son have discussed creating a company that would draw on talent and technology from their three groups, added the report. 

Tech website The Information first reported on Tuesday that Ive and Altman have been discussing building a new AI hardware device and that Softbank’s Son has also been involved in some aspects of the conversation.

Tech website The Information first reported on Tuesday that Ive and Altman have been discussing building a new AI hardware device and that Softbank’s Son has also been involved in some aspects of the conversation.

Ive has spent more than two decades at Apple. He was a close creative collaborator with the tech giant’s co-founder Steve Jobs. 

Ive had led the design of the candy-colored iMacs that helped Apple re-emerge from near death in the 1990s as well as the design of the iPhone.

Earlier this month, the FT had reported that SoftBank has been looking for deals in AI, including a potential investment in OpenAI, after the blockbuster listing of its Arm unit. 

It also said that Son was looking to invest tens of billions of dollars in the technology.

After the phenomenal success of ChatGPT, OpenAI has prompted companies such as Microsoft and Alphabet to pour billions of dollars into investing in the technology.

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Updated: 29 Sep 2023, 01:32 AM IST