OpenAI officially merged with io Products, a hardware startup co-founded by famed former Apple designer Jony Ive, on July 9.

As part of the merger, Ive and his team, LoveFrom, will assume design and creative roles within OpenAI.

The combined team will integrate into OpenAI’s operations in San Francisco.

The collaboration between Ive and OpenAI began two years ago, leading to the development of product designs.

Io Products was founded a year ago by Ive, Scott Cannon, Evans Hankey, and Tang Tan to focus on hardware and software development.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman highlighted the importance of combining technology and design.

Ive described the merger as a significant step in his career.

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🔗 Source: OpenAI

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Design investment signals strategic shift in AI hardware development

OpenAI’s $6.5 billion acquisition of io represents one of the largest investments ever made specifically for design expertise in the AI industry 1.

This validates a fundamental shift in how AI companies approach product development, placing design thinking at the center rather than treating it as a final aesthetic layer applied to technology 2.

The partnership follows a pattern established in earlier tech revolutions where design became increasingly central to product success, similar to how Apple differentiated itself through Ive’s design leadership.

By bringing in Ive and his team, OpenAI is positioning itself to create entirely new categories of AI products that move beyond traditional interfaces like screens, aiming instead for more intuitive, ambient integration into daily life 3.

This approach contrasts with typical AI hardware development that often prioritizes technical capabilities first and user experience second, demonstrating OpenAI’s commitment to creating technology that feels natural and accessible.

2️⃣ Successful innovation requires intentional collaboration across disciplines

The merger highlights how critical the intersection between different expertise areas has become in modern technology development, with AI requiring both technical excellence and human-centered design to reach its potential.

Tech companies like Google have long designed their workplaces specifically to encourage “serendipitous interactions” among employees with different specialties, recognizing that innovation often happens at the boundaries between disciplines 4.

The language in Sam and Jony’s letter about a “collaboration built upon friendship, curiosity and shared values” reflects research showing that effective collaboration requires establishing shared goals and mutual respect between technical and design teams 5.

This partnership institutionalizes what innovation research has consistently shown: that complex problems benefit from complementary perspectives, with designers helping engineers understand human needs while engineers help designers understand technical possibilities 6.

The merger formalizes a relationship that began two years ago as a collaboration, suggesting that both parties recognized the need for deeper integration to achieve their ambitious vision.

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