The investor should be SoftBank, they want to involve Arm in the development
OpenAI is in talks with former Apple designer Jony Ive and Japanese tech giant SoftBank to fund a $1 billion project to create “the iPhone of the world of artificial intelligence,” the Financial Times reported on Thursday. OpenAI is trying to build on the success of ChatGPT, and Silicon Valley is looking for the next big hardware platform after the smartphone.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman tapped Quince’s company LoveFrom to develop OpenAI’s first consumer device. Three sources familiar with the matter told the Financial Times.
Ive founded LoveFrom in 2019 after spending two decades at Apple, where he played a key role in developing some of the company’s most influential devices, such as the iPhone and iPod.
iPhone in the world of artificial intelligence.
Although the project is still in its early stages, the companies have discussed many potential projects in brainstorming sessions and hope to create something that will provide a “more natural and intuitive user experience for interacting with AI.” They take inspiration from how the iPhone used the touchscreen to change the way we interact with the mobile Internet.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son is in talks with companies to invest more than $1 billion in the venture and is discussing creating a company that would leverage the talents and technology of the three firms. Son is also insisting that chip designer Arm, which is 90% owned by SoftBank, will play a central role in the project.
The Financial Times writes that the talks are very “serious” but not final, warning that no deal has yet been agreed and that any formal announcement could be months away and the product will likely take years to reach the market.
