Is Apple's Former Designer Teaming Up with OpenAI's CEO to Challenge the iPhone?

Is Apple's Former Designer Teaming Up with OpenAI's CEO to Challenge the iPhone?

The Eve and Altman project currently has only 10 employees, but among them are Tang Tan and Evans Hankey, two key figures who worked with Eve on iPhone devices (French source).

Jonathan Ive, one of Apple's most renowned former designers, has confirmed that he is collaborating with Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, on an AI-powered hardware project, according to The New York Times.

This confirmation comes from excerpts of Ive's profile in the newspaper, almost a year after reports first emerged suggesting a potential collaboration between Altman and the veteran Apple designer.

Details about the project remain sparse, but it is rumored that Ive met Altman through Brian Chesky, the CEO of Airbnb, and that the project is being funded by both Ive and Emerson Collective.

The New York Times also reported that funding could reach $1 billion by the end of the year, though it made no mention of Masayoshi Son, the CEO of SoftBank, who was rumored last year to have invested $1 billion in the venture.

Currently, the project has a team of just 10 employees, including key figures like Tang Tan and Evans Hankey, both of whom previously worked with Ive on iPhone designs. Reports suggest that Ive’s design firm, LoveFrom, will be responsible for crafting the new device.

The team is reportedly working out of a 30,000-square-foot office in San Francisco, part of a $90 million real estate portfolio that Ive acquired in the city.

Could this collaboration dethrone the iPhone?

As for the device itself, The New York Times reports that Ive and Altman have been discussing how generative AI has enabled the creation of a new computing device, one that could surpass the capabilities of traditional software by handling more complex tasks. Rumors from last year suggest that the device may be inspired by touchscreen technology and the iPhone.

However, precise details are still lacking. Marc Newson, co-founder of LoveFrom, told The New York Times that the specifics of the AI-powered product, including its release date, are still under consideration.