What Altman Told OpenAI About the Secret Device With Jony Ive

OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman gave his staff a preview Wednesday of the devices he is developing to build with the former Apple designer Jony Ive, laying out plans to ship 100 million AI "companions" that he hopes will become a part of everyday life.

- Berber Jin

Employees have "the chance to do the biggest thing we've ever done as a company here," Altman said after announcing OpenAI's plans to purchase Ive's startup, named io, and give him an expansive creative and design role. Altman suggested the $6.5 billion acquisition has the potential to add $1 trillion in value to OpenAI, according to a recording reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

In the meeting, Ive noted how closely he worked with Steve Jobs before the Apple co-founder died in 2011. With Altman, "The way that we clicked, and the way that we've been able to work together, has been profound for me," Ive said.

Altman and Ive offered a few hints at the secret project they have been working on. The product will be capable of being fully aware of a user's surroundings and life, will be unobtrusive, able to rest in one's pocket or on one's desk, and will be a third core device a person would put on a desk after a MacBook Pro and an iPhone.

The Journal earlier reported that the device won't be a phone, and that Ive and Altman's intent is to help wean users from screens. Altman said that the device isn't a pair of glasses, and that Ive had been skeptical about building something to wear on the body.