OpenAI and ChatGPT logos are seen in this illustration. Photo: Reuters
ChatGPT maker OpenAI is said to be in “serious” talks with former Apple design guru Jony Ive and SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son to build an “artificial intelligence iPhone”.
The project is being backed by more than $1 billion in funding from the Japanese tech investment house, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.
Sam Altman, OpenAI’s chief, has tapped Ive’s company LoveFrom to develop the ChatGPT creator’s first consumer device, the report said.
Discussions are said to be “serious” but no deal has been agreed on, and it could be several months before a venture is formally announced, the report said, adding that Son, Altman and Ive have discussed creating a company that would draw on talent and technology from their three groups.
Also on AF: China EV Startup Nio Seen in Tech-For-Cash Talks With Mercedes
SoftBank declined to comment on the FT report. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Ive and LoveFrom could not be reached for comment.
Tech website The Information first reported on Tuesday that Ive and Altman have been discussing building a new AI hardware device and that Softbank’s Son has also been involved in some aspects of the conversation.
Ive was a close creative collaborator with Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. He spent more than two decades at the tech giant and led the design of the candy-coloured iMacs that helped Apple re-emerge from near death in the 1990s as well as the design of the iPhone.
SoftBank has been looking for deals in AI, including a potential investment in OpenAI, after the blockbuster listing of its Arm unit, the FT reported earlier this month, adding that Son was looking to invest tens of billions of dollars in the technology.
Read more:
SoftBank Eyes OpenAI Investment Amid Arm IPO Fever – FT
Japan Watchdog Warns ChatGPT-Maker OpenAI on Data Privacy
OpenAI Boss Urges Regulations to Prevent ‘Harm to the World’
China’s AI Startups Facing a Shakeout as Costs Surge
Baidu, SenseTime Launch ‘ChatGPT’ Bots After Beijing Approval
The US carmaker sold 82,432 of its Shanghai gigafactory-produced vehicles last month as rival BYD…
Cyclone Michaung was sweeping down India’s eastern coast, closing Chennai’s airport and sweeping cars away…
Chinese indexes saw double digit falls in the number of IPOs, compared to last year,…
Hedge funds rotated their positions to developed Asia markets, including Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan
Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission…
The number of Chinese blacklisted for defaulting on debts has hit a record high, which…