A new AI hardware effort involving Jony Ive, Sam Altman and Tang Tan is moving forward, with LoveFrom positioned at the center of the product's design work and OpenAI tied to the software side.
A high-profile AI hardware team is taking shape
The project brings together several major names from design, software and consumer technology. Jony Ive, the former Apple designer, is working with OpenAI's Sam Altman on a new AI hardware project. Tang Tan, an outgoing Apple designer, is joining Ive's design firm LoveFrom to lead hardware development for the effort, according to Bloomberg.
Tan most recently led product design for the iPhone and Apple Watch at Apple. His move adds another senior Apple design figure to LoveFrom's orbit. Shota Aoyagi, described as a member of Ive's former Apple industrial design team, had already joined LoveFrom before this latest development.
The project remains in its early stages. Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that it will be one of Ive's most ambitious projects since leaving Apple in 2019.
How responsibilities are being divided
The emerging structure is clear enough to show where the key pieces sit. LoveFrom will be responsible for the design and features of the new product. Altman and OpenAI will provide the software framework.
That split matters because the product is not being described only as another software interface. The effort is centered on new AI hardware for consumers, with the goal of making the interaction feel natural and intuitive.
The work is currently in the concept and team-building phase. The stated goal is to create a new company for the new AI hardware, which suggests the project is being organized as more than a one-off collaboration.
The consumer goal: an iPhone of AI
In late September 2023, The Information and the Financial Times first reported on the collaboration between Sam Altman, OpenAI, and Jon Ive. The project goal was described as developing the "iPhone of AI" for consumers.
The phrase points to a large ambition: a product that could make AI feel less like a tool buried inside existing devices and more like a dedicated consumer experience. The source article says the device is intended to focus on voice interaction rather than screen time.
Based on the reported details, several priorities define the concept:
- A consumer AI hardware product, not just software.
- A natural and intuitive user experience.
- Voice interaction as a central interface.
- Design and feature development led through LoveFrom.
- A software framework provided by Altman and OpenAI.
The project is also expected to receive funding from Japanese conglomerate SoftBank with more than a billion dollars, according to the source article. That level of backing, if it proceeds as described, would give the effort room to build a team and explore hardware development at serious scale.
Why the move matters for OpenAI
For OpenAI, consumer electronics would represent a broader move in the AI market. The company is already associated here with the software framework for the project, while the device itself would be shaped by LoveFrom's design work and Tang Tan's hardware leadership.
The source article frames a successful consumer electronics push as something that could strengthen OpenAI's position in a competitive AI market. It names Meta, Google, and Apple as companies already offering AI-powered devices with voice-enabled assistants and increasingly capable language models.
That competitive backdrop helps explain why hardware is strategically important. If AI becomes a more everyday consumer experience, the form of the device and the way people interact with it may matter as much as the underlying model. A product centered on voice interaction would try to reduce reliance on screen time while presenting AI as something users can address more directly.
The article also notes that OpenAI is considering entering the AI chip business. Taken together with the hardware project, that points to a broader interest in parts of the AI stack beyond software alone, though the hardware collaboration itself is still at an early stage.
What remains unresolved
The project has not yet been presented as a finished product. It is still in the concept and team-building phase, and the source article does not describe final specifications, a launch timeline or a confirmed device category beyond new AI hardware.
What is clear is the direction: a consumer-focused AI device, shaped by LoveFrom, connected to OpenAI's software framework, and led on hardware development by Tang Tan. With Jony Ive and Sam Altman attached, the effort is now one of the most closely watched attempts to define what dedicated AI hardware could become.