The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple has dropped out at the eleventh hour and will not participate in the investment round in OpenAI, which is expected to close next week. It would have been a rare investment in an unlisted technology company for Apple.
The question is whether not participating in the investment round will affect ChatGPT's possible integration into the new version of the iPhone operating system, iOS 18. Despite all the wonderful promo videos, it is still unclear what Apple means by its own interpretation of AI under the name "Apple Intelligence. Seeing first, then believing remains the credo in technology.
Perhaps Apple's enthusiasm for participation in OpenAI has been dampened by persistent reports that top designer Jony Ive, a former confidant of Steve Jobs and now co-funded by his widow Laurene Powell Jobs, is working with his new company LoveFrom and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on a veritable iPhone killer: a mobile device with fully integrated AI features from, surprise, OpenAI.
An "iPhone for AI"
A major article in the New York Times reports in detail on the creation of the new mobile device, unfortunately without clarifying what kind of device it is:
"Mr. Ive and Mr. Altman met several times for dinner before they decided to develop a product, with LoveFrom leading the design. They raised money privately, with contributions from Mr. Ive and Emerson Collective, Ms. Powell Jobs' company, and could raise up to $1 billion in seed capital from tech investors by the end of the year.
In February, Mr. Ive found office space for the company. They spent $60 million on a 32,000-square-foot building called the Little Fox Theater, adjacent to LoveFrom's courtyard. He hired about 10 employees, including Tang Tan, who oversaw iPhone product development, and Evans Hankey, who succeeded Mr. Ive as chief designer at Apple.
On a Friday morning in late June, Mr. Tan and Ms. Hankey could be seen moving chairs between the Little Fox Theater and the nearby LoveFrom studio. The chairs were laden with papers and cardboard boxes containing initial ideas for a product that uses A.I. to create a computing experience less socially disruptive than the iPhone.
The project is being developed in secret. Mr. Newson (fellow designer Marc Newson, MF) said the product and release time have yet to be determined."
$60 million in office space for a startup
So nice, when you can begin a startup with $60 million dollars just for your office space. Apparently that took all the budget for the website of Ive's company LoveFrom. All that's there is an animated bear, the mascot of the state of California, who casually strolls over the company name.
Wired published a nice piece yesterday in which it almost talks aloud, asking questions to the reader, trying to figure out what kind of mobile device Ive and Altman are working on. After all, no one has an image of the so called "iPhone for AI." But to lure investors, an Altman specialty, that tag line will work wonders.