According to PANews, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and former Apple Design Director Jony Ive have officially teamed up to develop an AI-driven personal device and are seeking $1 billion in funding. The investors currently in talks include SoftBank's Masayoshi Son, OpenAI investor Thrive Capital, and renowned venture capital firm Emerson Collective. Although details about the device are still confidential, it is reported that the duo aims to develop a personal AI product that challenges the traditional smartphone experience and explores new AI-based interactions.
Altman is participating in the project in a personal capacity, and it is not yet clear whether OpenAI will be involved in this new joint venture. However, OpenAI's latest GPT series model may provide technical support for the device's AI capabilities. The potential of the device lies not only in the hardware itself but also in reshaping our daily life and work interactions with AI. The technical support provided by OpenAI further enhances the intelligence of the device, which will be different from any functionality previously seen in the market.
In September of last year, iPhone designer Jony Ive and OpenAI CEO discussed an AI hardware project and were in talks to raise $1 billion from SoftBank to create an 'AI iPhone'. At that time, it was reported that Sam Altman and Jony Ive had not reached any agreement on establishing a joint venture company. The latest news reveals that they have officially begun to jointly develop this project.