OpenAI Device

After months of speculation and industry buzz, OpenAI has officially acquired “io,” the stealthy AI hardware startup led by former Apple design icon Jony Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The acquisition is valued at $6.5 billion, marking a major move in the race to reshape the future of AI-powered consumer devices.

Although OpenAI has only released a vague teaser video about the project, more concrete details are starting to emerge. One of the most intriguing revelations comes from an internal OpenAI chat, where Altman reportedly told employees the goal is to eventually ship 100 million AI “companions.” He described the venture as potentially “the biggest thing we’ve ever done as a company,” highlighting just how central this device is to OpenAI’s broader strategy.

Altman made clear that the 100 million-unit goal is aspirational — not something they expect to achieve on launch day — but he did predict they’ll reach that milestone “faster than any company has ever shipped 100 million of something new before.” Classic Silicon Valley bravado, perhaps, but it signals just how bold this vision is.

So, what exactly is this device? The concept is to create an AI companion that’s fully aware of its user’s surroundings and routines — possibly even their entire lifestyle. While most of the talk has centered around a single product, Altman hinted it could actually become a “family of devices.” In typical fashion, Jony Ive framed the project as “a new design movement,” undoubtedly aiming for something both functional and beautiful.

Originally envisioned as a partnership — with Ive’s team developing the hardware and OpenAI supplying the AI — the scope of the project has apparently outgrown that model, leading to a full acquisition. Altman explained that this isn’t just another smart accessory. He envisions the device as a “core experience” for using OpenAI’s services. In fact, he floated the idea that ChatGPT subscribers might simply be sent a new kind of computer to use.

Altman has criticized the current digital experience, arguing that traditional devices like laptops and phones can’t fully deliver the immersive, science fiction-like capabilities of advanced AI. He wants a device built specifically to maximize what OpenAI’s models can do — beyond websites and apps.

That said, this won’t be a smartphone, and it’s not likely to be smart glasses or a wearable watch either. Altman and Ive have dismissed those ideas, favoring something entirely different. The good news is this isn’t vaporware — there’s already a prototype, and Altman has even taken one home to test in real life. The tentative launch window is late 2026.

While OpenAI remains secretive about the actual product, some potential design clues have surfaced from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, known for his accurate Apple supply chain predictions. Kuo claims the device will be a bit larger than the Humane AI Pin but as sleek and minimalist as an iPod Shuffle — and, like the Shuffle, it will reportedly have no screen. Instead, it will rely on microphones and cameras to interact with the user and environment, syncing with smartphones and computers for processing power. Interestingly, Kuo suggests it’ll be worn around the neck like a necklace, rather than clipped on.

Mass production is likely to begin in 2027, though Kuo cautions that the design could still evolve before then.

Whether this device ends up revolutionizing how we interact with AI or becomes another bold-but-doomed experiment like the AI Pin remains to be seen. But Sam Altman is betting big. After living with the prototype, he’s said it could be “the coolest piece of technology that the world will have ever seen.”