LOS ANGELES – Legendary Apple designer Jony Ive and OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman are enlisting another Apple veteran to work on a new artificial intelligence (AI) hardware project, aiming to create devices with the latest capabilities.
As part of the effort, outgoing Apple executive Tan Tang will join Mr Ive’s design firm LoveFrom, which will shape the look and capabilities of the new products, according to people familiar with the matter.
Mr Altman, an executive who has become the face of modern artificial intelligence, plans to provide the software underpinnings, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the endeavour isn’t public.
The work marks one of the most ambitious efforts undertaken by Mr Ive since he left Apple in 2019 to create LoveFrom.
The iconic designer is famous for the products he helped devise under Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, including the iMac, iPhone and iPad.
His hope is to turn the AI device work into a new company, but development of the products remains at an early stage, according to the people.
The efforts so far are focused on hiring talent and creating concepts.
Mr Tan will lead hardware engineering at the project while working at LoveFrom, the people said.
Bloomberg News previously reported that the executive was stepping down as Apple’s vice-president of iPhone and watch product design.
He is not slated to depart until February, though his responsibilities were already divided up in December.
Mr Altman, who was fired as OpenAI CEO in November and quickly reinstated, irked some board members by raising funds for other endeavours.
That included the effort with Mr Ive, Bloomberg News reported in November.
Mr Altman had courted SoftBank Group chairman Masayoshi Son about making a multi-billion-dollar investment in the new company.
Projects in the concept stage include devices for the home.
For Apple, Mr Tan’s departure underscores an exodus of design talent.
Since 2019, about 14 members of Mr Ive’s former team at Apple have left.
Only roughly half a dozen of the designers who once reported to Mr Ive still remain at Apple.
Earlier in 2023, Apple lost Mr Ive’s successor Evans Hankey after only a few years in the role.
The brain drain left the company without an obvious replacement for her.
Instead of naming a new executive to lead design, Apple tapped its chief operating officer Jeff Williams to oversee the company’s designers directly.
LoveFrom, meanwhile, has assembled a roster of high-profile clients, including Airbnb, Ferrari and Moncler.
The firm also had a three-year deal with Apple to continue providing consulting services, but that relationship ended in 2022.
In all, more than 20 former Apple employees have joined the design firm. BLOOMBERG
