Rumors surfaced last year that former Apple designer Jony Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman were collaborating, but the two have remained quiet until now. But in a New York Times profile published this weekend, Ive confirmed that he is leading the design of an AI product his company, LoveFrom, is developing with Altman. Also involved are Tang Tang and Evans Hankey, who both held key design roles at Apple.
According to The New York Times, the project has a team of about 10 employees working on it so far, and is based in a San Francisco office building – one of several properties Ive has purchased on the block – but not much is known yet about what they’re developing. The article shows Tan and Hankey moving in wheelchairs between LoveFrom’s properties, “piled high with papers and cardboard boxes containing early ideas for a product that uses AI to create a less socially disruptive computing experience than the iPhone.”
Since Ive left Apple to start LoveFrom in 2019, the design firm has worked on typefaces and even a red clown nose, but not much has been announced about hardware, save for a $60,000 turntable. AI products are apparently on the way, but there’s no timetable for when they’ll debut.
