OpenAI buys iPhone architect’s startup for $6.4bn
OpenAI is buying an untested startup for $6,4bn, the ChatGPT maker’s biggest acquisition yet,The hardware startup, called io, was founded by Apple design guru Jony Ive, known best as one of the principal architects of the iPhone,Ive and OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, said in a blog post that their partnership has been two years in the making,“A collaboration built upon friendship, curiosity and shared values quickly grew in ambition,” they wrote in the blog post, which offered scant details on upcoming devices.
“Tentative ideas and explorations evolved into tangible designs.”OpenAI’s purchase of io is its biggest known acquisition yet.Ive and a cohort of other Apple alumni founded io one year ago, according to the blog post.It is part of Ive’s bigger project called LoveFrom, which describes itself as a “creative collective” made up of architects, artists, engineers, various types of designers, musicians and writers.Ive left Apple in 2019 after a 27-year career as one of the company’s foremost product designers.
He’s known for simple and clean aesthetics that pay attention to small details like packaging and font.One of his early famous designs was the brightly colored bubble-shaped iMac computer.From there, he went on to design the first iPod, iPhone, MacBook Air, Apple Watch and AirPods.For his work on creating such distinctive products, Ive was knighted by Princess Anne at Buckingham Palace in 2012, a moment he called “thrilling” and “particularly humbling”.In Altman and Ive’s blog post on Wednesday, they wrote that the io team will merge with OpenAI to work “more intimately with the research, engineering and product teams in San Francisco”.
Ive himself will not join OpenAI as an employee, but his company will “take over design for all of OpenAI, including its software”, according to Bloomberg.Since leaving Apple and starting LoveFrom, Ive has mostly remained quiet, and io has not debuted any hardware.His company’s list of clients reportedly includes Christie’s, Airbnb and Ferrari, though.Another project Ive has been working on is LoveFrom’s headquarters in San Francisco, according to the New York Times.Ives told the paper he is designing the headquarters of the company he is developing with OpenAI.
OpenAI has likewise yet to unveil a hardware device, but it has indicated it is heading in that direction.It has hired hardware and robotics staff, including Caitlin “CK” Kalinowski, who headed Meta’s augmented reality glasses initiative.In her LinkedIn announcement, Kalinowski wrote that her new role at OpenAI is to focus on “robotics work and partnerships to help bring AI into the physical world”.OpenAI has also invested in the robot startup Physical Intelligence, which aims to bring “general-purpose AI into the physical world”.Investors have been throwing money at OpenAI over the past couple of years, which is now valued at $300bn, according to Bloomberg.
In March, it closed a funding round of $40bn led by the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank.Microsoft has a 49% stake in the AI company after investing $13bn in 2023.Sign up to TechScapeA weekly dive in to how technology is shaping our livesafter newsletter promotionAlong with io, OpenAI moved to make other mammoth acquisitions over the last year.It purchased the AI-assisted coding tool Windsurf for $3bn earlier this month and bought the real-time analytics database Rockset for an undisclosed sum last summer.
Athletes warn against potential health risks of ‘dangerous, unethical’ Enhanced Games
A group of prominent Australian athletes including former Olympic diver Melissa Wu and Diamonds netballer Natalie Butler (nee Medhurst) has taken aim at the Enhanced Games after the “superhumanity” startup confirmed plans for its first event next year in Las Vegas, where former world champion Dolphin James Magnussen is expected to take part.The inaugural Enhanced Games planned for next May will include medical screening and individualised health profiling for the sprinting, swimming and weightlifting events as well as oversight by independent scientific and ethics boards to address widespread concerns for the safety of those who take part.But Sport Integrity Australia’s six-member Athlete Advisory Group, which also includes rugby sevens representative Ben O’Donnell and gymnast Alexandra Kiroi-Bogatyreva, issued a plea on Thursday for athletes to resist the lure of prize money and recognise their status as role models in society by staying clean.“The normalisation of performance-enhancing drugs promotes doping as entertainment, putting athletes at risk, and devalues the efforts of those who choose to compete clean,” the athlete advisory group said.“We are concerned about the negative role modelling impact on young athletes in particular, and the related health risks of using performance-enhancing substances or methods that may be inadvertently viewed as safe
Jim Irsay, longtime owner of NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, dies aged 65
Jim Irsay, longtime owner and CEO of the Indianapolis Colts and one of the NFL’s most recognizable figures, has died at age 65. The franchise announced that Irsay passed away peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday afternoon.“We are devastated to announce our beloved Owner & CEO, Jim Irsay, passed away peacefully in his sleep,” Colts chief operating officer Pete Ward said in a statement. “Jim’s dedication and passion for the Indianapolis Colts, in addition to his generosity, commitment to the community, and most importantly, his love for his family were unsurpassed.”Irsay, who took over full control of the team in 1997 following the death of his father Robert Irsay, presided over the most successful era in Colts history
Sophia Dunkley launches England into new era with win over West Indies in first T20
This opening match of the T20 series at Canterbury was supposed to be all about England: a first chance to assess how this team will fare under the new head coach, Charlotte Edwards, and new captain Nat Sciver-Brunt. And no doubt, Edwards will be pleased that her reign began with an eight-wicket win, especially as this was a homecoming of sorts for the former Kent captain.But while England experienced their first taste of victory in five months – spearheaded by a career-best unbeaten 81 from Sophia Dunkley, and featuring a wicket on debut for the 27-year-old Warwickshire seamer Em Arlott – there was only one star of Wednesday’s show: West Indies captain Hayley Matthews, who calmly brought up a century off the final ball of the visitors’ innings.An unbeaten 100 out of a team total of 146; 16 boundaries to Matthews while her teammates scored just five between them. Matthews is by now used to bearing the weight of the team she has captained for three years – epitomised by her refusal to take singles in the final over here, as she eyed up three figures – but the sensation is currently heightened by the mysterious absence of Deandra Dottin, who was omitted from the West Indies squad for this tour without explanation
England beat West Indies by eight wickets: first women’s T20 cricket international – as it happened
That’s it from me this evening. Congratulations England – ‘A new dawn has broken has it not?’ and all that. Charlotte Edwards will be pretty happy with what she saw this evening. The series continues on Friday down in Hove. Rob Smyth will be your guide for that and we’ll be back in the morning for the start of the Test match summer
Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander named NBA MVP
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player, capping a breakout year in which he led the Oklahoma City Thunder to a league-best 68 wins and the franchise’s deepest playoff run since the Kevin Durant era.The 26-year-old guard, who will be officially honored on Wednesday night, edged out Denver’s Nikola Jokić for the award after finishing runner-up to the Serbian star last season. Gilgeous-Alexander became the first Thunder player to win MVP since Russell Westbrook in 2017, and only the third in team history, alongside Westbrook and Durant.Gilgeous-Alexander is the first Canadian to win the award since Steve Nash in 2006. He also continues a run of players from outside the US claiming the award
Pro-doping Enhanced Games to debut in Las Vegas with Trump Jr backing
A controversial new Olympics-style sporting event where athletes will be permitted – and even encouraged – to use performance-enhancing drugs is set to debut in Las Vegas next May, organizers announced on Wednesday.The inaugural Enhanced Games will take place 21–24 May 2026 at Resorts World on the Las Vegas Strip. Over four days, competitors will race, lift and swim with full access to drugs and therapies banned in virtually every other elite athletic setting.Billed as a revolution in sport and science, the event aims to embrace what organizers call “superhumanity” – a future where pharmaceutical and technological enhancement is normalized in elite competition. But while promoters cast it as a bold break from the past, critics are already raising alarms about safety, fairness and the fundamental integrity of sport
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