OpenAI to buy AI startup from Jony Ive • Hacker News Board

Re: OpenAI to buy AI startup from Jony Ive

#21

Post by eagerpace » Wed, May 21, 2025, 5:12 PM UTC

nickrubin wrote: post #7

OpenAI announcement: https://openai.com/sam-and-jony/

Is this an m&a press release or an engagement announcement

Re: OpenAI to buy AI startup from Jony Ive

#22

Post by Onavo » Wed, May 21, 2025, 5:12 PM UTC

How would high net worth people like Jony Ive pay tax on this sort of big windfalls? Especially if it's all stock.

Re: OpenAI to buy AI startup from Jony Ive

#23

Post by joshstrange » Wed, May 21, 2025, 5:13 PM UTC

The ability for a CEO to be a founder of another company and then buy that company with the company he is a CEO of seems incredibly sketchy. See also: bullshit idea that someone can actually run multiple companies, it’s ceo welfare and vanity titles.

Re: OpenAI to buy AI startup from Jony Ive

#24

Post by teruakohatu » Wed, May 21, 2025, 5:13 PM UTC

AdamN wrote: post #9

minimaxir wrote: post #3

From April: https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/07/openai-reportedly-mulls-bu... > OpenAI is said to have discussed acquiring the AI hardware startup that former Apple design lead Jony Ive is building with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. According to The Information, OpenAI could pay around $500 million for the fledgling company, called io Products. How the heck did the price go up 13x?

There's only one Jony Ive and alot of demand from the company with the deepest pockets in town ... UX will make or break any major new AI product - especially hardware. The price is steep but I think it's actually a sensible move. There really aren't that many other people with the proven ability to deliver when it comes to UX at scale for novel areas.

Jony Ive is a designer verses Tony Fadell who is a hardware guy.

Ive is a very talented artist but AI is not being held back by people unwilling to courageously make things thinner and thinner.

I would imagine Ive looked at an Apple HomePod and thought “we could make this beautifully flat and hang it on the wall of every room in the house”. This might be a good idea but it in no way solves the major problems with AI/LLMs.

Re: OpenAI to buy AI startup from Jony Ive

#25

Post by Handy-Man » Wed, May 21, 2025, 5:14 PM UTC

ko_pivot wrote: post #10

No question that Ive is a legend, but I do think the fall of Humane (also ex-Apple) and the challenges at Meta, Apple, and Google in terms of VR/AR adoption (Meta Ray Ban, Apple Vision, Google Glasses and the new thing) are instructive here. The $6.5B almost feels like the largest ever aquihire.

But Meta is thriving with Meta Ray Bans, they have sold over 2M as of few months back. (Yes I know that number seems small compared to other devices, but for a new form factor, that seems like a great early success)

Re: OpenAI to buy AI startup from Jony Ive

#26

Post by kumarm » Wed, May 21, 2025, 5:15 PM UTC

_sword wrote: post #15

The self dealing king Sam Altman strikes again

He is second only to Elon in this case (SolarCity, X/XAI).

Re: OpenAI to buy AI startup from Jony Ive

#27

Post by jack_riminton » Wed, May 21, 2025, 5:15 PM UTC

People seem to be overlooking this: “ Altman doesn’t have equity in io, OpenAI said. “

Re: OpenAI to buy AI startup from Jony Ive

#28

Post by fooker » Wed, May 21, 2025, 5:16 PM UTC

AdamN wrote: post #9

minimaxir wrote: post #3

From April: https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/07/openai-reportedly-mulls-bu... > OpenAI is said to have discussed acquiring the AI hardware startup that former Apple design lead Jony Ive is building with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. According to The Information, OpenAI could pay around $500 million for the fledgling company, called io Products. How the heck did the price go up 13x?

There's only one Jony Ive and alot of demand from the company with the deepest pockets in town ... UX will make or break any major new AI product - especially hardware. The price is steep but I think it's actually a sensible move. There really aren't that many other people with the proven ability to deliver when it comes to UX at scale for novel areas.

The same guy who designed the 2016 generation MacBooks and was kicked out of Apple over it?

Jony Ive is great at UX when someone like Steve Jobs is there to veto stupid ideas.

Re: OpenAI to buy AI startup from Jony Ive

#29

Post by bbor » Wed, May 21, 2025, 5:16 PM UTC

AdamN wrote: post #9

minimaxir wrote: post #3

From April: https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/07/openai-reportedly-mulls-bu... > OpenAI is said to have discussed acquiring the AI hardware startup that former Apple design lead Jony Ive is building with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. According to The Information, OpenAI could pay around $500 million for the fledgling company, called io Products. How the heck did the price go up 13x?

There's only one Jony Ive and alot of demand from the company with the deepest pockets in town ... UX will make or break any major new AI product - especially hardware. The price is steep but I think it's actually a sensible move. There really aren't that many other people with the proven ability to deliver when it comes to UX at scale for novel areas.

Only in silicon valley would $6,500,000,000 for a single designer seem like a sensible move...

Re: OpenAI to buy AI startup from Jony Ive

#30

Post by karaterobot » Wed, May 21, 2025, 5:16 PM UTC

Sometimes two collaborators make each other better than either are alone. I get the sense that's how Steve Jobs and Jony Ive were. I've not seen anything Ive has done since be as good as what he did before. Someone has to hold the spike so the other one can swing the hammer. My guess is that's not how this relationship with Altman will work. And that picture is terrifying, please take it down and destroy the camera that took it.