Thoughts on io
OpenAI announced today that they’ve acquired io, a hardware company founded by Jony Ive.
The announcement included a nearly ten-minute video capturing a coffee shop conversation between Ive and Sam Altman, featuring stunning shots of San Francisco’s streets. There’s also an incredibly memeable photo of the two—which I’m resisting the urge to meme.
The unveiling strikes me as great marketing that doesn’t reveal much. Something feels slightly uncanny valley about it: the video is supposed to look like two friends casually chatting in public, yet clearly a lot of money went into production. I’d be shocked if everyone in the background wasn’t an actor. The dialogue itself feels at least partially scripted.
It’s the press release for an acquisition (though the actual announcement uses the word “merge”). It also feels like the very hard launch of a…friendship? Partnership? Predictably, X is abuzz with Altman / Steve Jobs comparisons.
Most intriguing was Altman teasing an io product he’s testing, describing it as “the coolest piece of technology that the world will have ever seen” It’s a remarkably understated hype statement from someone running the world’s leading AI lab.
Unfortunately we won’t learn more about their work until next year; if it ends up being close to the end of 2026, that’s potentially eighteen months away.
My initial reaction is that OpenAI is positioning itself to compete with Apple and Meta as a dominant player in consumer hardware moving forward. AR glasses are the first product I presume they’re working on, but perhaps their team has a different form factor in mind.
Update: Apparently, it won't be a wearable, but a carryable?
Setting aside my qualms with the video (and the photo, and the webpage that looks like the obituary for a loving couple that died holding hands), this signals a huge battle looming in the back half of this decade for the right to own the next major platform. Anyone remotely interested in tech should be watching closely.