An AI Device with LoveFrom OpenAI
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A few interesting nuggets in the sit down with Jony Ive that Tripp Mickle scored for The New York Times ahead of LoveFrom's fifth birthday.1 First and foremost, a new logo and typeface aren't the only things being worked on with regard to OpenAI from a design-perspective.
At a Michelin-starred restaurant, Spruce, a few miles from Jackson Square, Mr. Altman and Mr. Ive talked about how generative A.I. made it possible to create a new computing device because the technology could do more for users than traditional software since it could summarize and prioritize messages, identify and name objects like plants and eventually field complex requests like booking travel.
Mr. Ive and Mr. Altman met for dinner several more times before agreeing to build a product, with LoveFrom leading the design. They have raised money privately, with Mr. Ive and Emerson Collective, Ms. Powell Jobs’s company, contributing, and could raise up to $1 billion in start-up funding by the end of the year from tech investors.
While it has long been reported that Ive was exploring a project with Sam Altman, presumably related to OpenAI, Mickle's report has a few new details about the endeavor – including elements that would seem to confirm it as a stand-alone entity apart from LoveFrom and OpenAI. Notably, with "seed" funding from Ive and Emerson Collective (and likely/perhaps others). Meanwhile, while the idea that it could raise up to $1B has been around a while – here's a report from a year ago saying that Altman and Ive were talking to SoftBank about it – it's interesting that it's still apparently in process and could happen "by the end of the year".
Perhaps some of this funding would come from OpenAI itself (Mickle explicitly ties the two together, talking openly with Ive about "a new, artificial intelligence device company that he is developing with OpenAI"), but also undoubtedly many of that company's backers, given the overlap (though maybe not Apple given any potential future device conflict?). The Information reported in April that Emerson and Thrive Capital were talking to the duo – and that was obviously well before Thrive stepped up (reportedly) in a major way to lead this new OpenAI $6B+ round also coming together right now. Undoubtedly not a coincidence: Thrive has an office in the San Francisco complex of buildings in Jackson Square owned by Ive, as Mickle's story details.
Speaking of, this new AI Device entity apparently also has its own office, separate from the LoveFrom offices, but adjacent to them:
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 that backs up to the LoveFrom courtyard. He has hired about 10 employees, including Tang Tan, who oversaw iPhone product development, and Evans Hankey, who succeeded Mr. Ive in leading design at Apple.
On a Friday morning in late June, Mr. Tan and Ms. Hankey could be seen wheeling chairs between the Little Fox Theater and the nearby LoveFrom studio. The chairs were topped by papers and cardboard boxes with the earliest ideas for a product that uses A.I. to create a computing experience that is less socially disruptive than the iPhone.
It was reported late last year that Tan would leave Apple, with Mark Gurman later confirming that he would join Ive at LoveFrom, specifically to work on AI projects. Hankey left Apple in 2022 after taking over as head of industrial design from Ive. While many presumed she'd end up at LoveFrom as well, it would seem to be a big deal that both are working on this new project, and company, specifically.
As an aside, all of this is arguably bigger news because of the fact that Humane, the startup that took the ill-advised path of hyping up their "AI Pin" pre-launch to no end, is not only operating in the same general space, but was also started by an ex-Apple team, and also backed by Altman.2 Hard to imagine a more awkward situation – though thankfully for perhaps everyone, the AI Pin did a big old bellyflop out of the gate and the company has apparently been trying to sell itself ever since. So the two perhaps won't be rivals for long...
And while you might think the obvious: why doesn't this new Ive/Altman company just buy Humane? All indications are that there is no, um, LoveLost between the Humane founders and many others at Apple, or whom have recently left Apple. So presumably any deal would only occur if the technology was truly great, and there's not much really pointing in that direction – with seemingly the most "high tech" element of the device, the hand-projector thing, now looking like misguided technology at best. So perhaps for patents? But it would also be a bad look to have one Altman company "bailing out" an Altman investment. Not that this has ever stopped anyone – like, say, that other OpenAI co-founder who shall not be named, except in lawsuits.
So is there a path to a product here? If kept simple enough, one would hope so. If you squint, you can almost see something similar to what Humane and others have been going after. But it has to be both great and probably fairly affordable – not always Ive's strongest suit. As I wrote back in May:
I think this is even more interesting now in light of OpenAI's GPT-4o announcement the other day. That product, which seems absolutely brilliant for vocal computing, almost begs for new hardware. Because, of course, OpenAI doesn't make and more importantly, control, their own phones. So they're going to be beholden to the device makers – unless they make their own device...
And it doesn't have to be an entire smartphone, of course. Nor should it be!
How about a wearable clip or pendant that is only meant to chat with GPT-4o? That's it. That's the product. No screen. No laser projector. I'm not saying there wouldn't be limitations and likely even some frustrations with such a device, but I think a lot of people would be interested in such a product and would perhaps even buy it, depending on the price.
The downside? It would undoubtedly still have to tether to your smartphone for service. Humane obviously tried to bake-in cellular connectivity with the AI Pin, I just think it's too hard (and costly) for a startup to do this still. The only time I recall it working outside of a smartphone is when Amazon did it with the Kindle. But that was Amazon. And those Kindles were huge. Maybe a startup as well capitalized as OpenAI could figure it out. Or partner on it. But probably to start, you still just pair with a smartphone.
And in v2, you add a camera, to complete the 'o' in GPT-4o picture, quite literally. Thus bringing us closer to the device from Her.
Meanwhile, Meta and Snap are seemingly entering the space through glasses (well, Meta is entering it any way they can – with the Ray-Ban project getting notable early acclaim). Apple's initially muted foray into AI notwithstanding, it seems like they have a pretty direct line of sight to do many interesting things in the real world here, given the billion-plus device advantage (not to mention the retail/logistics advantage). So things could get even more awkward for both Altman and Ive down the road. Still, for now, it's not yet even clear what path the company is going down, product-wise – back to Mickle:
The project is being developed in secret. Mr. Newson said that what the product would be and when it would be released were still being determined.
That would be Marc Newson, of course, also formerly of Apple and Ive's LoveFrom co-founder. It's interesting for him to state that the product here is still "being determined" considering how long they've already apparently been working on it. That's very Apple, of course. And undoubtedly the right move in this space, right now, as long as you have the capital to be patient. Which they clearly do.
Less like Apple:
Though Mr. Ive is optimistic about their work and enthusiastic that it could make his investments in Jackson Square worthwhile, he is uneasy about the future. It is only natural for him to be afraid that he spent too much money on property or worry that his start-up could fail.
Fair or not,3 people who leave Apple to work on startups have a reputation for finding it hard to operate outside the confines of 1 Infinite Loop – or now, the Spaceship at Apple Park. A startup is obviously just a very different environment from all large companies, but perhaps especially Apple. Hopefully Jony Ive is tapping into his inner "Founder Mode" – all the references in the article to Brian Chesky are undoubtedly helping.
Beyond this new AI product, the backstory of Ive buying up nearly $90M worth of real estate in SF is interesting – in part to help revitalize the ailing city:
“I don’t know whether it was reckless,” he said of his building buys. “It certainly wasn’t arrogant. It was well intended. But I really felt we could have a contribution.”
And yes, the thinking, in part, was about Steve Jobs:
When it came time to find office space for LoveFrom, Mr. Ive returned to Jackson Square because of its creative legacy. It was just a block away from City Lights Bookstore and Vesuvio Cafe, where Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and the Beat Generation hung out. It was also home to galleries and artists.
“One of the things that I was fortunate of was to see and understand the context of San Francisco through the eyes of Steve Jobs,” Mr. Ive said. “He knew City Lights and Vesuvio. I owe Steve so much for how I understand San Francisco’s contribution to the culture.”
LoveFrom's name itself was inspired by Jobs as well. Also of note, when the SF project is done late next year, it will also feature a retail store – because it has to per zoning requirements:
The firm’s largest “for us” project is the Jackson Square redevelopment. On a 114-inch TV near the studio’s entrance, Mr. Ive showed an artist’s rendering of the parking lot as a garden. Pebbled pathways cut between green grass. Hedges created a perimeter of greenery along the walls of the surrounding buildings and trees provided shade for outdoor chairs. A pavilion stood in the center for meetings and events. The firm’s studio will fill two buildings between the courtyard and street. Because of a zoning requirement, one of the buildings will have a LoveFrom store where the firm will sell products like its custom notebooks and Moncler jackets.
One more thing: as Mickle rather casually sprinkles in, LoveFrom's clients are paying the firm "as much as $200 million annually". That is... pretty big business for a five-year-old design shop. Of course, when your clients are Moncler, and Airbnb, and Ferrari, and King Charles... And your work yields revolutionary new buttons (seriously), X-Men experiences (indirectly, but as cited here, seriously), steering wheels (and interior touch-screens), and the most beautiful insignia you're likely to see... Maybe they can help OpenAI with that logo problem?
M.G. Siegler
M.G. Siegler
M.G. Siegler
M.G. Siegler
M.G. Siegler
1 While I don't think the functionality is exactly new, it was interesting to listen to the article as read by Mickle -- complete with an introduction with a bit of a backstory about the story itself and how it came together. As a longtime proponent of listening to such things, I'm a fan.
2 Who is actually not just an investor, but the largest shareholder in the company. So, yeah, awkward. But many things involving OpenAI tend to get awkward, it seems!
3 Seemingly mostly fair. One counter-example: Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers with Nest -- which, yes, was backed by GV, where I was a partner for over a decade.