In what could only be described as a seismic shift in the AI landscape, OpenAI has announced plans to sell a staggering 100 million AI devices within their first year of launch—a figure that would catapult the company into the rarefied air of consumer hardware titans. This ambitious target, which CEO Sam Altman suggests could add a trillion dollars to the company’s valuation, represents OpenAI’s first major foray into physical products after establishing dominance in the algorithmic domain.
The $6.5 billion acquisition of Jony Ive’s company, io, serves as the cornerstone of this strategic pivot. Ive—the design virtuoso behind Apple’s most iconic products—will spearhead the development of a pocket-sized AI companion that aims to understand users’ surroundings contextually while, paradoxically, reducing screen time rather than contributing to digital dependency. The device is designed to be fully aware of the user’s surroundings, offering an experience reminiscent of the ocular implant from the British TV episode The Entire History Of You. (One wonders if the irony of combating tech addiction with more tech has occurred to the executives plotting this revolution.)
Ive’s design brilliance meets AI ambition in a paradoxical device promising to cure our tech addiction with more tech.
Unlike conventional smartphones or wearables, these devices will eschew traditional communication capabilities, positioning themselves as ambient intelligence rather than yet another notification-generating gadget. The vision appears to be an omniscient but unobtrusive presence—a digital familiar that comprehends your life without demanding your constant attention. This approach to ambient technology aligns with broader industry shifts toward tangible utility rather than speculative features, mirroring cryptocurrency’s evolution beyond mere investment vehicles.
While the exact form factor remains shrouded in corporate secrecy, the timeline suggests a potential market entry between 2025 and 2027. OpenAI executive Peter Welinder will be leading the team alongside Ive to bring these ambitious hardware plans to fruition. This multi-year development cycle hints at the complexity underlying what Altman has dubbed OpenAI’s “biggest thing ever”—a claim that, given the company’s transformative impact on AI so far, carries considerable weight.
The quiet years-long collaboration between OpenAI and LoveFrom (Ive’s creative collective) preceding this announcement suggests methodical planning rather than impulsive diversification. Should they achieve even half their stated ambitions, the implications for consumer technology markets would be profound, potentially reshaping how we conceptualize the relationship between artificial intelligence and daily human experience.
