ChatGPT maker OpenAI has teamed up with Jony Ive, the design genius behind Apple's iPhone, to develop a groundbreaking AI hardware device, according to reports.
OpenAI boss Sam Altman and Ives, who now helms the LoveFrom design agency, are in preliminary talks with SoftBank about raising cash to fund the venture, tech website The Information reported.
Funding could top US$1 billion, according to the Financial Times, which reported that Altman and Ive have been "brainstorming" ideas for how a new consumer product could make use of OpenAI’s technology.
Softbank chief executive Masayoshi Son, who has also been engaged in these preliminary talks, is also considering the prospect of incorporating recently re-floated Arm Holdings.
The collaboration reportedly seeks to envision the "iPhone of artificial intelligence", intending to redefine user interactions with AI, echoing the revolutionary shift the iPhone initiated for mobile internet.
Ive's concerns about the obsessive nature of smartphone use have been well documented, having said in 2018 that he believed in Apple's "moral responsibility" to address the unintended ramifications of the iPhone, such as habit-forming apps.
The partnership with OpenAI, insiders suggest, resonates with Ive's aspirations to pioneer a less screen-centric digital interface.
Recent advancements in OpenAI's chatbot, ChatGPT, including voice controls and web browsing capabilities, could hint at the technological direction of this collaboration.
OpenAI, backed by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), has recently seen its value triple to nearly US$90 billion.