Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Last month, OpenAI announced it was officially getting into the hardware business. In a video posted to X, CEO Sam Altman and former Apple designer Jony Ive, who worked on flagship products like the iPhone, revealed a partnership to create the next generation of AI-enabled devices via a startup called io.
But that launch appears to have hit a snag.
Also: Is ChatGPT Plus really worth $20 when the free version offers so many premium features?
On Tuesday, evidence of the partnership was scrubbed from the internet (except for the above video, for now). OpenAI has updated its original announcement page, stating that it is "temporarily down due to a court order following a trademark complaint from iyO about our use of the name 'io.' We don't agree with the complaint and are reviewing our options."
(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, ZDNET's parent company, filed an April 2025 lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)
iyO sues OpenAI
The initiator of the complaint, iyO, is the maker of AI-powered wearables, specifically iyO One, a set of earbuds that the company website says are meant to be a "computer without a screen." iyO One can run apps the way a smartphone does and take natural language commands from the user. Bloomberg Law reported that iyO has sued OpenAI over the trademark.
Also: ChatGPT can now sum up your meetings - here's how to use it (and who can)
Founded by Ive, io is (or was) an under-the-radar startup focused on AI devices. On acquiring the startup in a nearly $6.5 billion all-stock deal, Sam Altman said he envisions creating a daily AI companion device as common as a laptop or smartphone. As part of the deal, Ive and those at his design firm, LoveFrom, are slated to remain independent but will take on creative roles at OpenAI.
... continue reading