Rumors swirled last year about a potential partnership between Jony Ive, the renowned former Apple designer, and Sam Altman, CEO of leading AI research organization OpenAI – yet both parties remained tight-lipped on the matter until now. According to a recent profile, Jony Ive has confirmed that his company, LoveFrom, is leading the design efforts for a new AI-powered product in collaboration with Sam Altman. Tang Tang and Evans Hankey, both of whom wielded significant influence over the visual identity of Apple during their tenures.
Approximately 10 employees are currently involved in the project, primarily based at the San Francisco office building, one of several properties owned by IVE within a city block, according to reports. Despite this, we still know relatively little about the product they’re working on. Tan and Hankey wheeled wheelchairs between LoveFrom properties, where early prototypes of an AI-powered product were scattered about on tables and shelves, covered in paper and cardboard containers displaying nascent ideas. To develop a computing expertise that is significantly less socially invasive than the iPhone.
Since I left Apple in 2019 to establish LoveFrom, my design agency has continued to thrive, albeit quietly, with little to show in terms of tangible hardware innovations – just a few scattered whispers. Although an AI-powered product is seemingly imminent, a definitive launch date has yet to be announced.
