OpenAI to acquire AI startup io from Jony Ive in $6.5 billion deal

OpenAI is set to acquire io, an AI device startup co-founded by Apple veteran Jony Ive, in a $6.5 billion all-stock deal, marking its largest acquisition to date. The move signals OpenAI’s push into AI-powered hardware, securing Ive’s expertise alongside former Apple designers who helped shape iconic products like the iPhone, iPod, iPad, and Apple Watch.

“I have a growing sense that everything I’ve learned over the last 30 years has led me to this place and to this moment,” Ive said in an interview with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, calling their…