OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has unveiled to employees the company’s ambitious plans to develop and ship 100 million AI “companion devices,” created in collaboration with former Apple designer Jony Ive. OpenAI acquired Ive’s company “io” to build AI devices Altman hopes will soon be in every home.
The Wall Street Journal reports that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently provided his staff with an inside look at the highly anticipated AI companion devices he is developing in partnership with renowned former Apple designer Jony Ive. During a company meeting on Wednesday, Altman expressed his belief that this project presents “the chance to do the biggest thing we’ve ever done as a company here,” following the announcement of OpenAI’s $6.5 billion acquisition of Ive’s startup, io.
Altman suggested that the acquisition has the potential to add a staggering $1 trillion in value to OpenAI. He emphasized the importance of secrecy surrounding the project to prevent competitors from replicating the product before its official launch. The goal is to release the device by late next year, with plans to ship an unprecedented 100 million units faster than any company has ever achieved with a new product.
During the meeting, Ive drew parallels between his close working relationship with the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and his connection with Altman. The two leaders offered hints about their secret project, describing a device that will be fully aware of a user’s surroundings and life, unobtrusive, and able to rest comfortably in one’s pocket or on a desk. This AI companion is envisioned as a third core device, alongside a MacBook Pro and an iPhone.
Altman clarified that the device is not a phone or a pair of glasses, noting Ive’s skepticism about wearable technology. Instead, they are working on a “family of devices” that seamlessly integrates hardware and software, much like Apple’s successful approach. Ive alluded to “a new design movement” that will revolutionize the way users interact with technology.
For months, Ive’s team has been in discussions with vendors capable of shipping the device at scale. While they don’t expect to ship 100 million devices on the first day, Altman is confident that OpenAI will achieve this milestone faster than any company has ever shipped a new product in such high quantities.
These ambitious plans reflect Altman’s bold vision for OpenAI’s expansion across various domains, including data centers, enterprise technology, chatbots, personal robots, and more. However, rolling out new devices that compete with deep-pocketed, multitrillion-dollar companies like Apple and Google has historically been one of the most challenging endeavors in the tech industry.
OpenAI is currently operating at a loss, with projections indicating that the startup won’t generate a profit until 2029 and expects to lose $44 billion before reaching profitability. Despite the dominance of Apple and Google in the smartphone software market, Altman and Ive believe that building their own device is the only way for OpenAI and other AI companies to interact directly with consumers.
The collaboration between Altman and Ive has been growing steadily over the past few years. Eighteen months ago, OpenAI Vice President of Product Peter Welinder, began working with Ive’s team, and the two sides became excited about a specific device last fall. Initially, the plan was for Ive’s startup to build and sell its own device using OpenAI’s technology, but Altman realized that the device was a central aspect of the user’s relationship with OpenAI, necessitating the merger of the two companies.
Altman and Ive believe that existing devices are insufficient for fully realizing the potential of AI. The AI companion device aims to break free from these limitations and enable users in ways that harness what Altman considers the capabilities of advanced AI models.
Read more at the Wall Street Journal here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
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