Jony Ive, the legendary former chief designer of Apple, has officially confirmed his participation in the development of a new AI device together with OpenAI. The project, which is in its early stages, could attract up to $1 billion in funding by the end of the year and promises to revolutionize human interaction with AI.
Image Source: Apple
Ive’s collaboration with Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, was first discussed in the media almost a year ago. Now this information has received official confirmation in The New York Times article about what the former designer is doing after leaving Apple.
The project brings together expertise in AI and hardware, which could lead to the creation of a fundamentally new class of computing devices. The device concept is based on the power of generative AI, which will be able to do more for users thanks to the ability to process complex queries more efficiently than traditional software.
The details of the project remain a mystery, but it is known that Quince and Altman were introduced to each other by Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb. The project is being financed by Ive and the Emerson Collective, Laurene Powell Jobs’ company. The New York Times resource reports the possibility of attracting up to $1 billion in investments by the end of 2023. Notably, there is no mention of Masayoshi Son, SoftBank CEO, who was rumored to have invested $1 billion in the project last year.
There are currently 10 employees working on the project, including key people who worked with Ive on the Apple iPhone: Tang Tan and Evans Hankey. The device is designed by LoveFrom, a company founded by Ive. The team is located in a 2,973 m2 office in San Francisco, which is part of a real estate complex acquired by Ive for $90 million.
Marc Newson, co-founder of LoveFrom, confirmed in an interview with The New York Times that the specifications of the generative AI product and timeline for its release to market are under development. This indicates the early stage of the project and possible changes in its concept.