OpenAI is making a significant push into the consumer hardware market, strategically recruiting top talent from Apple and engaging with its established supply chain to build a new generation of AI-powered devices. This ambitious move signals a major shift for the artificial intelligence leader, moving it beyond software and into direct competition with the very hardware giants its technology currently partners with. The effort is spearheaded by a growing team of Apple veterans, promising to reshape the landscape of personal technology by creating devices built from the ground up for artificial intelligence.

At the core of OpenAI's hardware strategy is the aggressive recruitment of former Apple employees, leveraging their deep expertise in product design, manufacturing, and user interface development.[1][2][3][4] The company has successfully hired at least two dozen former Apple staffers in 2025 alone, attracting them with lucrative compensation packages, including stock grants reportedly exceeding one million dollars, and the promise of a more collaborative, less bureaucratic work environment.[1][3][5] Leading this charge is Tang Tan, a 25-year Apple veteran who now serves as OpenAI's chief hardware officer.[6][3][4] Tan was instrumental in transforming the designs of legendary Apple designer Jony Ive into mass-produced products like the iPhone and Apple Watch.[3][4] He is joined by other notable figures from Apple, such as Cyrus Daniel Irani, a longtime Siri interface designer, Matt Theobald, a 17-year veteran of Apple's manufacturing design team, and engineers from the Apple Watch and camera divisions.[6][2][3] This talent drain has reportedly caused concern within Apple, which allegedly canceled an annual offsite meeting in China to prevent further defections.[2][7]

The foundation for this hardware initiative was solidified in May 2025 with OpenAI's acquisition of io Products, a hardware startup co-founded by Jony Ive and Tang Tan, in a deal valued at $6.5 billion.[6][8][9][10] This acquisition brought not only the expertise of its founders but also a ready-made design team to OpenAI, giving the company instant credibility in the hardware space.[3][4] Ive, renowned for his work on the iMac, iPod, and iPhone, is expected to heavily influence the design of OpenAI's products, aiming for a minimalist aesthetic and intuitive user interaction seamlessly integrated with AI.[8] While Ive continues to run his separate design firm, LoveFrom, he is reportedly spending an increasing amount of time at OpenAI's San Francisco office, signaling his deep involvement in the project.[3] The goal, as stated by those involved, is to create a computing experience that is less socially disruptive than the smartphone.[11]

To bring these designs to life, OpenAI is tapping into the same sophisticated supply chain that Apple spent decades cultivating. The company has signed a manufacturing agreement with Luxshare, a key assembler of iPhones and AirPods, to build its first consumer hardware product.[6][8][1][9] Additionally, OpenAI has approached Goertek, another crucial Apple partner that manufactures components for AirPods, HomePods, and the Apple Watch, to supply speaker modules for its initial device.[6][8][9][3] By leveraging these established manufacturing giants, OpenAI is piggybacking on a proven network, aiming to ensure quality production and operational efficiency as it scales its hardware ambitions.[12][1] This strategic move to use Apple's own suppliers highlights OpenAI's serious intent to compete in the consumer electronics market.[3]

The implications of OpenAI's hardware push are far-reaching, potentially disrupting the current tech landscape. The company is exploring a range of "AI-native" products, including a screenless smart speaker, smart glasses, a wearable pin, and a digital voice recorder, with a target launch window of late 2026 or early 2027.[6][12][1][7][13] These devices are envisioned to be compact, context-aware, and powered directly by OpenAI's advanced language models, offering a new paradigm for human-computer interaction that moves beyond the app-based model of smartphones.[8] This strategy poses a direct challenge to established players like Apple, Google, and Samsung, whose business models are heavily reliant on their existing hardware ecosystems.[8][9] While facing competition from other AI hardware startups like Humane and Rabbit, OpenAI's integration of its own powerful models with a world-class design team and a robust manufacturing network could provide a significant market advantage.[8] The move creates a complex dynamic with Apple, which has integrated OpenAI's models into its own software while simultaneously seeing its talent and suppliers courted by its partner.[6][3]

In conclusion, OpenAI's concerted effort to enter the hardware market by leveraging Apple's talent and supply chain is a bold and strategic gamble. By assembling a team of seasoned hardware experts and partnering with established manufacturers, the company is positioning itself to create a new category of AI-centric devices that could redefine personal computing. This initiative not only challenges the dominance of existing tech giants but also signals a future where artificial intelligence is not just a feature within our devices, but the very foundation upon which they are built. The success of this venture could usher in a new era of ambient, intuitive technology, fundamentally altering how we interact with the digital world.