Sam Altman and Jony Ive team up for next-gen hardware, new ‘screen-free’ OpenAI device expected

OpenAI has officially confirmed it’s bringing io, the AI device startup co-founded by design icon Jony Ive, into the fold in a massive all-stock deal reportedly valued at $6.4 billion. Now, we’re getting a glimpse of what Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman may be secretly crafting behind the scenes. According to a recent internal staff call reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, their upcoming device is set to be pocket-sized, context-aware, screen-free, and crucially — not a piece of smart eyewear. 

The device is expected to work more like an AI companion than a gadget, blending into your daily life. It’s still early days, but from what we’ve heard so far, it sounds like OpenAI and Ive are trying to invent a whole new category of personal tech — and they might just pull it off.

With the $6.5 billion acquisition now official, io's team — made up of former Apple heavyweights — will be working directly with OpenAI’s engineers and researchers in San Francisco to bring this vision to life. And, if anyone can design the future of AI hardware with elegance and impact, it’s the guy who made the iPhone look cool. As part of the io acquisition, around 55 engineers and designers from the startup will be folded into OpenAI’s ranks, with their first AI-powered hardware expected to break cover sometime in 2026.

Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman have reportedly been working together for over two years, cooking up an entirely new category of AI-native devices. And, if Altman’s comments are anything to go by, they’re swinging for the fences — he’s called the prototype “the coolest piece of technology the world will have ever seen.”