OpenAI bets big on hardware with $6.5 billion acquisition of Jony Ive's startup

Something to look forward to: As OpenAI and Ive's team prepare to unveil their first device, the technology world is watching to see if this collaboration can deliver the breakthrough that has so far eluded others. "It's a crazy, ambitious thing to make," Sam Altman said. OpenAI is making a dramatic leap into the hardware business, announcing a nearly $6.5 billion all-stock acquisition of io, the artificial intelligence device startup co-founded by legendary Apple designer Jony Ive. The deal, the largest in OpenAI's history, signals a new era for the company as it aims to move beyond software and into physical consumer technology. Ive, whose decades at Apple produced iconic products like the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, described the moment as the most meaningful point in his career so far. "I have a growing sense that everything I've learned over the last 30 years has led me to this place and to this moment," he said in a joint Bloomberg interview with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The ... Read full article.