GoKawiilOpenAI acquires camera startup Glass Imaging for over $300 million
OpenAI has reportedly acquired Glass Imaging, a Los Altos-based smartphone camera company, for more than $300 million according to the Wall Street Journal. Founded in 2019 by former Apple engineers Ziv Attar and Tom Bishop, who helped build Portrait Mode, the startup had raised roughly $30 million before the deal and uses neural networks trained on specific camera hardware to improve image quality directly at capture rather than through post-processing edits.
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The purchase fits a pattern of OpenAI assembling hardware expertise, following its earlier $6.5 billion acquisition of Jony Ive's device startup io, suggesting the company is seriously pursuing physical AI products like phones or wearables. Camera technology that improves image capture through learned hardware models could be a key differentiator for any consumer device OpenAI eventually builds.
- OpenAI reportedly paid over $300 million for camera AI startup Glass Imaging.
- Glass Imaging's founders previously created Apple's Portrait Mode feature.
- The deal signals OpenAI's continued push into consumer hardware development.
Apple iPhone 15 Pro — The Apple iPhone 15 Pro features advanced camera systems that can benefit from Glass Imaging's AI enhancements, delivering stunning photos right out of the box. With OpenAI's recent acquisition of Glass Imaging, future iPhone models may see even more impressive image quality, making this the perfect time to upgrade to Apple's flagship smartphone.
See Apple iPhone 15 Pro on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.Source: techcrunch.com — Amanda Silberling, 2026-09-14
Published there as: “OpenAI buys smartphone camera maker Glass Imaging for $300 million, report says”
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