Recent news exposure.appleVP of Design Tang Tan is leaving to join LoveFrom, a company founded by Jony Ive, with theOpenAIJony Ive, the man behind Steve Jobs, who founded Apple's Lucky Strike after leaving the company, is expected to seek more than $1 billion in investment. The partnership, which was rumored back in September, is expected to seek an investment of more than $1 billion from SoftBank's Masayoshi Son. Jony Ive, known as the "man behind Steve Jobs" and the founder of LoveFrom after leaving Apple, seems to have a high-profile project in mind for his collaboration with OpenAI.
The partnership sees design being handled by LoveFrom, with OpenAI providing software support and hardware potentially backed by SoftBank. Plans are underway to form a new company, with product development still in the early stages, focusing primarily on hiring and creating concepts. The motivation behind the move is unclear, but it is noted that Ottoman and Ive want to avoid relying on Apple or Google for Android distribution so as not to repeat the mistakes of Facebook and Amazon.
Jony Ive left Apple with a three-year agreement to continue consulting with Apple. It wasn't until last year that Ive and Apple renegotiated and both sides agreed to stop working together, allowing Ive to develop products without restriction. During this period, Ive took more than 20 employees from Apple to join LoveFrom, and Tang Tan will soon be in place.
The collaboration is a bold attempt in the mobile device space and has attracted industry attention. Although product development is still in the early stages, the movement of this collaboration is promising, especially at a time when the smart device space is constantly innovating. The final product form and its impact on the market will require further attention.