Rumor mill: OpenAI's ambitious foray into consumer hardware is facing mounting technical challenges, as the artificial intelligence company and renowned designer Jony Ive struggle to refine a next-generation AI device they hope to launch next year. The product is being developed under Ive's London-based firm LoveFrom, which OpenAI acquired in May for $6.5 billion.
People familiar with the project told The Financial Times that the device – a compact, screenless gadget capable of interpreting its surroundings through cameras and microphones – is still wrestling with core issues in both hardware and software. Executives have kept most details under wraps, but several people close to the effort said the company aims to build something far more advanced than existing digital assistants such as Amazon's Alexa or Apple's Siri.
Rather than relying on a phone or display, the device is designed to sense and respond to the physical world through visual and auditory cues. Prototypes are roughly the size of a smartphone and expected to feature multiple cameras, a microphone array, and speakers allowing two-way conversation. Sources said the concept envisions an "always-on" assistant, capable of observing and remembering contextual information throughout the day to improve how it interacts with users.
"The concept is that you should have a friend who's a computer – not your weird AI girlfriend," said one person familiar with the design philosophy. The challenge, they added, lies in ensuring the device communicates naturally, without being intrusive or overbearing.
That social balancing act remains one of the biggest technical hurdles. Engineers are still determining what tone and "personality" the assistant should project – direct yet not abrasive, helpful but not excessively talkative. "Model personality is a hard thing to balance," another person close to the project said. "It can't be too sycophantic, not too direct, helpful, but doesn't keep talking in a feedback loop."
OpenAI's biggest constraint may not be design but compute: the vast processing power needed to operate its large language models at scale. The same infrastructure that runs ChatGPT must support a real-time AI companion device. "Amazon has the compute for an Alexa, so does Google for its Home device, but OpenAI is struggling to get enough compute for ChatGPT, let alone an AI device – they need to fix that first," a source said.
Unlike cloud-only AI services, a consumer product must process vast amounts of data on demand while preserving user privacy and responsiveness. Sources said the company has not decided how much of that processing will occur locally on the device versus remotely on OpenAI's servers.
To build the device, OpenAI has quietly assembled an experienced hardware operation. The $6.5 billion acquisition of Ive's design firm brought in more than 20 former Apple engineers who had previously worked on major hardware products including the iMac, iPhone, and iPod. The company has since added at least a dozen more Apple veterans this year, as well as engineers from Meta who worked on the Quest headset and Meta's smart glasses.
Two people familiar with OpenAI's supply chain said the firm has been in discussions with Chinese contract manufacturer Luxshare to produce the device, though final assembly could take place outside China.
The pivot toward hardware arrives as OpenAI becomes the world's most valuable private company, recently overtaking SpaceX with a valuation of about $500 billion. Developing a physical product is seen by those inside the company as a way to extend its AI beyond chat interfaces and into continuous daily use.
But entering the consumer market carries risks. Similar devices from other start-ups have struggled to find traction. A wearable AI companion called Friend drew criticism for its intrusive design and erratic personality, while Humane – a company personally backed by OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman – was forced to scrap its AI Pin after disappointing sales and software problems.
Some within OpenAI view these failures as cautionary tales. One person close to the effort said the company wants its device to be "accessible but not intrusive," offering assistance that feels less like a novelty and more like a useful extension of OpenAI's technology.
For Ive, whose minimalist hardware aesthetic helped shape modern consumer electronics, the project represents his first major collaboration since departing Apple in 2019. Yet the partnership with OpenAI is not without strain. People briefed on the process described unresolved debates over the assistant's design language, privacy safeguards, and the mounting cost of running AI models across millions of personal devices.
OpenAI and Jony Ive are struggling to bring their AI device to life
