Former Apple chief design officer Jony Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are reportedly exploring collaboration opportunities to build an unspecified artificial intelligence "hardware device," two sources told The Information.
Recently, Ultraman invited former Apple designer Thomas Meyerhoffer - an employee of Jony Ive - to design the retinal scanning Orb (pictured) for Ultraman's Worldcoin encryption project.
This isn't the first time Altman has worked with former Apple designers on new hardware. Thomas Meyerhoffer was Ive's first employee at Apple and worked with Ive on the design of projects such as the iMac. He designed the spherical retinal scanning Orb for Ultraman's Worldcoin cryptocurrency project. Orb is developed by Tools for Humanity, a company co-founded by Altman in 2019, of which Altman is also chairman.
There's no word yet on the device, or what it might be used for. The Information stated that Ivey and Altman are friends and they have been discussing "what new hardware will look like in the artificial intelligence era." It's unclear whether the device will be made by OpenAI, Tools for Humanity or a third-party manufacturer, or whether the two will decide to build the device.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son was also reportedly involved in discussions with Altman and Ive. Masayoshi Son, once the world's richest man, has invested more than US$140 billion in artificial intelligence-related startups in the past few years, and has said that he will build SoftBank into an "investment company for the artificial intelligence revolution." It's unclear whether he will remain involved in Ive and Altman's plans.