SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — OpenAI has recruited Jony Ive, the designer behind Apple’s iPhone, to lead a new hardware project for the artificial intelligence company that makes ChatGPT. OpenAI said it is acquiring io, a product and engineering company co-founded by Ive, in a deal valued at nearly $6.5 billion.

As OpenAI competes with tech giants such as Google, Meta and Apple, it's recruiting some of the most well-known figures in the tech industry.

In what could prove to be a blockbuster deal for San Francisco’s booming artificial intelligence industry, OpenAI has acquired AI-device startup io in a reported $6.5 billion deal. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced the merger in a joint message with io founder Jony Ive Wednesday,