and Ive confirmed that the takedown was due to a
trademark dispute. The issue? A company named IYO Inc., which is also working on AI devices, has taken OpenAI to court, asking a judge to block the use of the “IO” name.
As Bloomberg first reported, the case is now under review. So while the partnership between OpenAI and Ive isn’t officially off the table, the branding and the rollout are on pause.
The takedown of all marketing material comes just weeks after OpenAI grabbed headlines in May for acquiring IO Products the hush-hush
AI hardware startup co-founded by legendary former Apple designer
Jony Ive, the mind behind the iPhone, iMac, and more. The move signaled a major pivot for OpenAI, marking its first big step beyond software and into the world of physical products.
When the deal was first announced, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman called it the beginning of “a new family of products,” with plans to launch the company’s first AI hardware device within a year. Details around the design and features were tightly under wraps, but internally, Altman was bullish reportedly telling employees that OpenAI could move up to 100 million units. A bold bet, and a clear sign of just how much faith he had in the Ive collaboration.
Altman didn’t hold back on ambition. Internally, he reportedly told staff that acquiring Ive’s company could one day add $1 trillion to OpenAI’s valuation. “This is the biggest thing we’ve ever done as a company,” he said.At the time of the announcement, Altman and Ive published a now-deleted joint blog post on OpenAI’s website, saying: “It became clear that our ambitions to develop, engineer, and manufacture a new family of products demanded an entirely new company.”OpenAI had already owned 23% of IO from an earlier collaboration, and paid an additional $5 billion in equity to fully acquire the startup. Public records show IO was incorporated in Delaware in September 2023, and registered in California in April 2024.
The hardware division will be led by OpenAI’s Peter Welinder, best known for his work in robotics and experimental products. He’ll oversee a team drawn from across hardware, software, manufacturing, and research all working closely with OpenAI’s core engineering teams in San Francisco.
While details remain scarce, this partnership has been years in the making. Altman and Ive reportedly started working together quietly in early 2023. By February 2025, Altman had begun publicly teasing plans for an “AI-first device.”
What that device could look like is still anyone’s guess. Some believe it might follow the path of gadgets like the Humane AI Pin or Rabbit R1. Others speculate it could be smart glasses, in-car AI systems or even robotic interfaces.
