OpenAI to Buy Apple Alum Jony Ive’s AI Firm for $6.5 Billion (2)

OpenAI will acquire the AI device startup co-founded by Apple Inc. veteran Jony Ive in a nearly $6.5 billion all-stock deal, joining forces with the legendary designer to make a push into hardware.

The purchase — the largest in OpenAI’s history — will provide the company with a dedicated unit for developing AI-powered devices. Acquiring the secretive startup, named io, also will secure the services of Ive and other former Apple designers who were behind iconic products such as the iPhone.

“I have a growing sense that everything I’ve learned over the last 30 years has led me to this ...