Sam Altman and former Apple executives are making an AI device

OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman is teaming up with former Apple (AAPL) design executive Jony Ive and Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs, to start a new artificial intelligence device company.

Ive confirmed the project Tin in an interview with the New York Times published Saturday. According to the former Apple executive, it all started when Airbnb (ABNB) CEO Brian Chesky — a close friend of Altman’s and client of Ive’s design company, LoveFrom — arranged for the pair to meet for dinner last year.

From there, Altman and Ive continued to meet, and decided that they would build a new device, with Ive responsible for the design. Ive and Emerson Collective, a firm founded by Powell Jobs, have already contributed, according to the Times. By the end of this year, the startup could reach $1 billion in funding.

The secret project already has a physical office space and 10 employees. Key staffers include Tang Tan, who headed product design teams for the iPhone and Apple Watch, and Evans Hankey, who succeeded Ive as Apple’s design chief.

Ive left Apple in July 2019 after nearly three decades with the iPhone maker, and founded his own design studio, LoveFrom, shortly after.

The Information first reported talks between Altman and Ive over an AI hardware project a year ago.

Meanwhile, Altman’s OpenAI, the company behind popular generative AI chatbot ChatGPT, is in talks with several investors to raise billions of dollars in new funding, which would value the company at more than $100 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The funding round is reportedly drawing big names, including Apple, Microsoft (MSFT), and chip giant Nvidia (NVDA) — which is in talks to potentially contribute $100 million. The latter owns a 49% share of OpenAI’s profits after contributing approximately $13 billion to startup, including $10 billion in backing in January 2023.

Over the past two years, OpenAI has become the most influential generative AI company on the market. ChatGPT hit 100 million weekly users earlier this year, and kicked off the genAI and chatbot boom with the success of its flagship model.

With that growth, OpenAI’s influence — and value — has continued to snowball. A deal allowing employees to sell stakes in the company valued OpenAI at $86 billion late last year, nearly triple what it was earlier in 2023.With that growth, OpenAI’s influence — and value — has continued to snowball. A deal allowing employees to sell stakes in the company valued OpenAI at $86 billion late last year, nearly triple what it was earlier in 2023.