OpenAI CFO says AI hardware will boost ChatGPT subscriptions in 'new era of computing'

OpenAI is betting a new "era" of computing will justify the company's decision to spend billions of dollars on bespoke hardware to go with it, Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar said. The artificial intelligence startup, best known for the ChatGPT chatbot, announced plans on Wednesday to buy iPhone designer Jony Ive's devices startup io for about $6.4 billion. Ive's company was founded roughly a year ago and doesn't have a product on the market. Friar told CNBC on Thursday that any startup as young as io was "hard to value." But she sees an eventual return on that investment. "You're really betting on great people and beyond," Friar said. "It's not just about imagining what a new platform could look like — you've got to be able to craft it. You've got to be able to build it. You've got to be able to understand supply chains." Friar, who took the CFO job at OpenAI last summer and was formerly CEO of Nextdoor , said new devices will eventually get OpenAI's technology in the hands of ... Read full article.