OpenAI Teams Up with Jony Ive to Develop AI Hardware Set to Launch by Year End, CFO Reveals Entry into Internal Testing

According to Dynamic Beating monitoring, OpenAI's Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar confirmed for the first time at the All-In Summit that the new consumer AI hardware device developed in collaboration with former Apple Chief Design Officer Jony Ive has entered the internal testing phase and is scheduled to be officially released by the end of this year or early next year.

Sarah Friar revealed that she has personally tested the device and stated, "When you see it, when you experience it, it feels very natural, lovable, and intimate." When asked by the host if the device is in the form of smart earbuds/headphones, Friar humorously avoided the question by saying, "If I say, Jony will come and take away my son," emphasizing that the essence of the product's design is to "push the complexity of the mechanism back and make the technology invisible."

It was previously revealed in the industry that OpenAI acquired Jony Ive's hardware startup "io" in May 2025, and court documents earlier this year indicated that the hardware product would not be shipped to consumers before February 2027. The release window disclosed by the CFO this time aligns closely with the previous leaks.