Key Takeaways
- OpenAI is exploring ways for AI to exist beyond screens, aiming for an “ambient computer layer.”
- The company’s COO, Brad Lightcap, envisions AI that is “truly personal” and doesn’t require looking at a screen.
- OpenAI is acquiring former Apple designer Jony Ive’s AI device startup, io, for nearly $6.5 billion.
- CEO Sam Altman believes there’s a better way to access AI than current methods involving computers and web browsers.
- OpenAI’s enterprise customer base has grown to 3 million, and it’s collaborating with the California State University System.
OpenAI is looking to change how we interact with artificial intelligence, envisioning a future where AI isn’t confined to web browsers or mobile apps.
Brad Lightcap, OpenAI’s chief operating officer, mentioned the company’s ambition to create an “ambient computer layer.” This would allow users to access AI without needing to look at a screen, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Speaking at WSJ’s Future of Everything event, Lightcap explained that OpenAI aims to develop AI that feels “truly personal.” He also admitted he doesn’t know the specifics of what CEO Sam Altman is developing with former Apple designer Jony Ive.
Ive’s AI device startup, io, formed in spring 2024 with other Apple designers, is being acquired by OpenAI. As PYMNTS reported in May, the deal is valued at just under $6.5 billion, and io will become OpenAI’s devices division.
Sam Altman has expressed a desire for a more seamless way to access AI, rather than the current process of opening a computer, navigating to ChatGPT’s website, and typing queries. “I think we have the opportunity here to kind of completely reimagine what it means to use a computer,” Altman stated when announcing the acquisition.
The startup io plans to reveal its projects in 2026. Reports from October 2023 indicated Altman’s interest in a hardware project with Ive to create a more natural AI interaction, similar to how Ive’s designs, like the iPhone, revolutionized technology use and business models.
During the same WSJ event, Lightcap also shared that OpenAI now serves 3 million enterprise customers, an increase from 2 million in February. Furthermore, OpenAI is partnering with the California State University System, aiming to help it become the nation’s first “AI-powered university system,” according to the WSJ report.
