OpenAI Just Bought Apple's Secret Weapon Future For $6.5B
4IR - Daily AI News
Welcome back to 4IR. Here’s today’s lineup:
Tools & Trending
🔥 TOP STORY: OpenAI acquires io and brings Jony Ive on board
The story: OpenAI has officially acquired io, a hardware company founded by former Apple Chief Design Officer Jony Ive. The deal, worth $6.5 billion, brings Ive and his LoveFrom team into OpenAI’s orbit to lead the design of AI-native consumer devices.
Key details:
Ive’s team will help build new interfaces for OpenAI products like ChatGPT
The acquisition follows OpenAI’s recent deal with Google Cloud to rent TPUs and reduce reliance on Nvidia
OpenAI now controls design, models, and compute infrastructure
The Story:
The convergence of artificial intelligence and physical design represents a pivotal moment in our march toward more intuitive human-machine interaction. Since the iPhone's debut in 2007, we've been trapped by rectangular screens and legacy interfaces that were never designed for the age of intelligent computing. Design visionary Jony Ive, who helped birth the smartphone era, now recognizes these very devices may be holding us back from AI's true potential.
In 2019, Ive left Apple expressing concern about the iPhone's impact on human attention and anxiety. Fast-forward to this week: OpenAI completed its $6.5 billion acquisition of Ive's AI hardware startup, io, bringing legendary product design in-house and taking a decisive step toward building AI-first devices. This matters because OpenAI now controls both how AI thinks and how humans interact with it.
The acquisition brings together 55 engineers, scientists, and former Apple designers who helped create iconic products like the iPhone, iPod, and Apple Watch. Ive will assume "deep creative and design responsibilities across OpenAI," with the first products expected to debut in 2026. As Altman noted, "The products that we're using to deliver and connect us to unimaginable technology, they're decades old" — suggesting we're on the cusp of interfaces that finally match AI's capabilities.
Why it matters:
This is the clearest sign yet that OpenAI is moving beyond software. By designing its own AI-first hardware, OpenAI is setting itself up to challenge Apple, Google, and Meta, not just in intelligence, but in experience.
🧠 DEEP DIVE: AI is driving the next wave of cybercrime
What happened: A new Trend Micro report found that 93% of cybersecurity leaders expect AI-generated attacks, like deepfakes, phishing, and synthetic identity fraud—to happen daily by the end of this year.
The findings:
Generative AI makes scams faster, cheaper, and more convincing
Deepfake voice and video fraud is on the rise
Security teams are increasingly using AI to detect AI-based threats
Your takeaway:
If your company uses AI, your security needs to match. Invest in AI-native detection tools, train your team to spot synthetic media, and review your protocols for biometric fraud.
🛠️ HOW‑TO: Automate your scheduling with Perplexity’s Comet
What you'll build: A smart browser agent that manages your calendar, books meetings, and sends follow-ups.
Steps:
Subscribe to Perplexity Pro and activate Comet
Connect your Google Calendar, Gmail, and LinkedIn
Prompt: “Find 3 open slots for a client call next week”
Approve Comet’s suggestion and let it confirm meetings automatically
Pro tip: Create recurring workflows like “Every Monday, schedule a 1:1 with my team.” Comet will handle it without reminders.
⚡ QUICK HITS
New Tools
Comet – Automates scheduling inside your browser
Google AI Mode – Conversational search experience
Pindrop Security – Detects AI-generated voice fraud
Stability AI SDK – Build and deploy custom GenAI models
Other News
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KPMG urges Australia to regulate generative AI