The hardware company of Openai CEO Sam Altman and former Apple designer Jony Ive reportedly have not built wearable devices. On Sunday, the company removed “IO” branding from anywhere due to a trademark lawsuit. Now, the report says court applications for the lawsuit reveal that the working AI (AI) devices are not wearable. But there is still not much clarity as to what it really is. In particular, the court filing reportedly revealed that the device would not be released before 2026.
Altman and Ive reportedly aren't working on wearables
On Sunday, Openai deleted an announcement video about its partnership with IVE as well as web pages and blog posts referring to the name of the venture, the word “IO.” Later, in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), the official Openai Newsroom handle issued a statement that the announcement page was temporarily removed due to a trademark complaint from IYO.
Interestingly, AI startup IYO was spun from Google's Moonshot Factory. According to a report from TechCrunch, they are developing AI in-ear devices that can connect to other devices, and claims IO is working on similar products. The Google-backed AI startup reportedly also submitted documents highlighting Openai and IO executives meeting with the IYO team, and the latter presented a demonstration of their in-ear devices. Openai said, “We disagree with the complaints and are reviewing the options.”
Representatives from Openai and IO say companies have purchased over 30 different headphones to investigate recent trends in the market and downplay the allegations. Now, the new 26-page declaration by Tang Tan, co-founder and chief hardware officer of IO products, and former Apple executives, Tang Tan, reveals that underdeveloped devices are not pairs of earphones or headphones.
Tang claimed that the prototype Altman mentioned in the IO launch video was “not an in-ear device or a wearable device.” He also emphasized that IO will not be selling the product for at least a year. In particular, Altman previously said that the AI devices under development are not something that can be worn on the body.
However, he claimed it would be “the third core device to be placed on the desk after the MacBook Pro and iPhone.”
