Masayoshi Son of SoftBank will provide more than $1 billion in finance for the project.
The creator of ChatGPT, OpenAI, is in advanced discussions to develop the “iPhone of artificial intelligence” with former Apple design chief Jony Ive and SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son.
According to sources cited by the Financial Times on Thursday, the Japanese investment holding company will contribute $1 billion to the product’s development.
Uncertainty exists around the possible investment’s terms and the timetable for the product’s development.
Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, hired LoveFrom, a design studio that Mr. Ive founded after leaving his prominent position as Apple’s chief design officer in 2019.
This week’s information included some coverage of the product conversations as well.
According to the sources, Mr. Altman and Mr. Ive discussed how the product would appear and how OpenAI’s technology would fit in it in the San Francisco studio.
They stated that they wanted to make using AI “more natural and intuitive” for people by developing a solution that would enable this.
The iPhone, which did away with the conventional keyboard in favor of an all-touch interface, was revolutionary and created a new market for mobile devices.
According to the sources, there are still many ideas and possibilities being evaluated when it comes to the design and type of the device that will be made.
Advancements have made smartphones even more potent and practical. Smartphones have revolutionized mobile communications. Counterpoint Research stated last month that the business has been stagnant and that shipments are on track to reach their lowest levels in a decade.
With a fresh and distinctive product, the market might be revitalized, and Apple and Samsung Electronics, the largest mobile phone maker in the world, as well as other market leaders, might face competition.
The ambitious plans of Jonny Ive
The initiative of OpenAI receiving Mr. Ive’s support would greatly advance its aspirations for consumer devices.
Mr. Ive and co-founder of Apple Steve Jobs worked closely together on creative projects.
He worked for the tech company for more than two decades and oversaw the creation of both the iPhone and the colored iMacs, which helped Apple recover from its 1990s near-death experience.
Mr. Ive also contributed to the design of Apple Stores, the company’s Apple Park headquarters in California, and some elements of the iOS user interface.
In 2019, he parted ways with Apple and joined forces with Marc Newson to launch the design studio LoveFrom. The “creative collective” LoveFrom lists Airbnb and Ferrari among its clients.
Meanwhile, Tokyo-based SoftBank is a significant investor in the technology sector.
According to data from CB Insights, the business and its technology-focused Vision Fund have invested in roughly 160 companies.
China’s Alibaba Group, chipmakers Nvidia and Arm, Uber Technologies, TikTok parent ByteDance, and Indian e-commerce platform Flipkart are a few of the businesses in SoftBank’s investment portfolio.
The FT reported earlier this month that SoftBank had been searching for AI projects following the successful listing of its Arm company, and that Mr. Son was planning to invest tens of billions of dollars in the field.
Companies like Microsoft and Alphabet have invested billions of dollars in the technology as a result of the success of OpenAI, the parent company of the enormously popular chatbot ChatGPT.