OpenAI and Jony Ive negotiate with Softbank to create company to launch ‘iPhone AI’ | Companies

OpenAI, the company that created ChatGPT, looks set to enter the hardware space and capitalize on the value that AI can bring to the field, as it is today a clear leader. as financial times, This company, in which Microsoft has invested $10 billion, is in advanced talks with former Apple designer Jony Ive and Masayoshi Son, CEO of SoftBank, to launch a company that will build an “artificial intelligence iPhone.” The project will receive more than $1 billion from the Japanese group for its implementation.

OpenAI founder Sam Altman will work with the visionary Ive to develop the ChatGPT creator’s first consumer device. Both have held multiple brainstorming sessions to flesh out this product, which will focus on OpenAI technology, through which they hope to deliver a more natural and intuitive user experience for interacting with AI. The ultimate goal will be to achieve what Apple achieved in 2007 when it launched the first touchscreen iPhone, which massively boosted the mobile Internet market, thanks to its ability to connect and run applications.

The allies Altman sought for the project appear to be key. SoftBank, for its financial strength. And Jony Ive for his well-known ability to translate ideas into a final product. Which is something he did for a long time, turning into distinctive products as suggested by the mind of Steve Jobs at Apple.

The first works between Altman and Ive will be done at LoveFrom, the studio the former Apple designer created when he announced he was leaving Apple in June 2019. From this design studio he worked at several large companies. Brands like Airbnb or Ferrari.

The Financial Times notes that the process of defining a design or device is still at an early stage, with many different ideas on the table. The three partners were proposing to create a company that would leverage the talent and technology of the three groups. The sources consulted by this newspaper confirm that the talks are “serious,” but the agreement has not yet been concluded and that it may take months before the company’s establishment is officially announced. They also point out that any hardware product that might emerge from this collaboration could take years to be commercialized.

SoftBank’s role will not be limited to providing financial support for the launch of the project, as the Japanese group also owns 90% of ARM, the largest designer of mobile phone chips, which could have a relevant role in the future device.

For Ive, the compulsive nature of the behavior of many smartphone users has become a concern, he told the Financial Times in 2018. In his view, Apple has a “moral responsibility” to mitigate the unintended consequences of the iPhone, such as addictive apps, She said she limited her children’s screen time. The famous designer is convinced that the project with OpenAI will provide an opportunity to create a way to interact with computers and mobile phones that is less dependent on screens, according to people who know him.

Altman and Ive aren’t the only ones looking to build the next big consumer electronics device. This device will become the smartphone of the future, the equipment that everyone uses for work and for most daily things. And usher in another new era of personal computing. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has long been betting on this device as his Quest virtual reality headset. Amazon aspires to make its own smart speaker Echo as well. But for now, none of them can compete with the smartphone, a device that has found its way into the pockets of billions of people.

The new project from the founder of OpenAI comes days after the company announced updates to the ChatGPT chatbot, including the capabilities of controlling the application through voice or by uploading an image. In addition, you can now browse the Internet to find the latest information possible. Also this Tuesday Wall Street Journal It was reported that Altman Company is studying A stock sale would value his company at up to $90 billionIts value tripled in less than a year.

Altman and Eve’s project is very ambitious. It remains to be seen whether the initiative will be realized and whether it will be able, as Apple did in its day, to steal all the limelight from the rest of the powerful consumer electronics industry and define its future agenda. We should not ignore that Apple itself has been working on developing generative AI tools for years, as its CEO, Tim Cook admitted, and could launch a competitor to ChatGPT and who knows if there is a device, other than the iPhone, that taps into the capabilities of AI. Just as the founder of OpenAI intends to do.

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