Meet man, designer of iPhone, iPad, AirPods, Steve Jobs’ close aide who wanted to leave Apple after…, now joins Sam Altman’s…
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. OpenAI said its CEO Sam Altman had been “quietly” collaborating since 2023 with Ive and his design firm, LoveFrom.
Who is Jony Ive?
Ive worked at Apple for over two decades and is known for his work on iconic iPhone, iMac and iPad designs. Ive was Apple’s chief design officer before leaving the company in 2019 to start his own design firm.
A British-born was an Apple employee since 1992. He joined it after completing graduation from Newcastle Polytechnic, now Northumbria University, in the UK. He had also started his own design firm ‘Tangerine’ , according to the biography of Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson.
His company made a deal with Apple after which he moved to Cupertino, California to work in the design department. He quickly became the head of the department in 1996.
Ives stayed at Apple even after Steve Jobs’ death, during which he handled the brand’s products like the iMac and AirPods to the iPod, iPhone and Apple Watch. He left the company in 2019 to start his own company called LoveForm.
Steve Job’s aide wanted to quit Apple
When Jony Ive joined Apple, the company had ousted its founder Steve Jobs and the CEO Gil Amelio. Ive also wanted to quit, according to the biography of Steve Jobs.He felt that Apple was focusing too much on profits. Their designers were asked to generate models for the outside of products but engineers were using cheap materials to build the inside part.
When Steve Jobs returned in Apple as CEO in 1997. Ive remembered Steve saying that he wanted the company “not just to make money but to make great products.” This idea changed Jony’s mind and he decided to stay back. Over the years, he developed a close bond with Steve Jobs.
(With Inputs from Agencies)
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