Jony Ive, the mastermind behind some of Apple’s most iconic designs, is currently working on a project that we know very little about, but that is catching attention. After leaving Apple in 2019, Ive has not wasted any time and is now, along with Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, involved in the creation of certain hardware related to artificial intelligence.
The latest news about this project, of which we currently have no further details, is nothing less than a huge financial backing: Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of the legendary co-founder of Apple, Steve Jobs, and prominent figure of Emerson Collective, is in talks to invest up to 1 billion dollars in the project.
A device that “won’t look like a phone”
After his departure from Apple, Ive founded his own design company, LoveFrom, alongside his colleague and friend Marc Newson. Although Apple initially appeared as a client of LoveFrom, this relationship ended in 2022, marking the end of an era and the beginning of a new phase for Ive.
The project that Ive and Altman are collaborating on promises to be as revolutionary as it is enigmatic. Although not many specific details are known yet, reports from The Information suggest that the resulting device from this collaboration “won’t look like a phone”.
The implications of such a statement are truly significant and point towards a new category of product in the field of AI. In this context, the potential investment of Laurene Powell Jobs in the project, as reported by The Information, is a vote of confidence in Ive and Altman and in the device.
The reasons for Ive’s departure from Apple have never been entirely clear. What is clear is that this AI project is about to receive significant funding just as we talk about iOS 18 and the major changes that AI can bring to it.
If both assumptions are confirmed, Jony Ive would be competing with Apple in a fairly similar product category. Not on the same scale, of course, but competition nonetheless. Despite these speculations, however, the true purpose and nature of Ive and Altman’s AI device remain, for the time being, shrouded in mystery.
For now, we will have to wait to find out if this huge financial support materializes. In the meantime, it is clear that just by the names involved in the project, whatever the device may be, it will be able to attract market attention. We will see, as the weeks go by, what else we can find out about this enigmatic project.
