Rumors have rushed for several weeks, in early April 2025 to be precise for several weeks, they are materializing today with the announcement of an acquisition. Operai has just formalized the acquisition of Start-up products through a common publication with Jony Ive, its founder.
This has not given many news since its creation, but everything accelerated in September 2024, when it approached OpenAi to design a smartphone project promoted by artificial intelligence.
A redemption to 6,500 million dollars
A project that obviously seems convincing enough for Sam Altman to decide to pay $ 6.5 billion to pay the company’s designer and the old right arm.
In the publication formalizing the acquisition, Ive and Altman speak of an “extraordinary moment”, which makes it possible to gather “the best hardware and software engineers, the best technologists, physical, scientists, researchers and experts in development and manufacture of products.”
IO products will merge with Openai to work “more intimately” with teams dedicated to research and engineering. Everything will be done in San Francisco.
The news of this acquisition is not surprising, since the New York Times already imagined such an event in early April, but the American Daily newspaper was more inclined to a first collection of funds to seal the association between the two companies.
With this acquisition, Sam Altman especially seeks to guarantee an OpenAI software in the future and software (with chatgpt) and material (designing devices specifically made for AI).
IO products come from Love From, a new company created by Jony Ive after its departure game in 2019. The iPhone designer and many products of the Apple brand had experienced the arrival of Tim Cook, which had passed the design after the rest.
Source: BFM TV
