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What We Know About iPhone Designer Jony Ive’s Post-Smartphone A.I. Device So Far

Laurene Powell Jobs and Jony Ive at the WSJ Magazine 2022 Innovator Awards at the Museum of Modern Art on Nov. 02, 2022. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for WSJ. Magazine Innovators Awards

Jony Ive spent decades shaping Apple’s sleek, unmistakable aesthetic, crafting iconic products like the iPhone and iMac that defined a generation of consumer technology. Now, he’s helping lead the next technological leap—teaming up with OpenAI to design a consumer-facing A.I. device. The project has already earned the backing of Laurene Powell Jobs.

“Just watching something brand new be manifested, it’s a wondrous thing to behold,” said Powell Jobs of Ive’s recent work in a joint Financial Times interview. A longtime supporter of Ive’s work, she has remained in touch since his Apple days and is also an investor in his design firm, LoveFrom. That company’s spinout, io, was recently acquired by OpenAI in a $6.4 billion deal to fuse their efforts into a new category of A.I.-driven consumer products.

Powell Jobs has already had an early look at what they’re building. “I’ve watched in real time how ideas go from a thought to some words, to some drawings, to some stories, and then to prototypes, and then a different type of prototype,” she said. “And then something that you think: I can’t imagine that getting any better—only to see the next version, which is even better.”

Following its acquisition of io and its 55-person team, Sam Altman’s OpenAI is planning to launch a groundbreaking A.I. device sometime next year. Ive, who will remain independent from the company but lead its creative and design direction, began conversations with Altman about A.I. hardware back in 2023. He went on to found io later that year to explore those ideas. While the full terms of OpenAI’s acquisition remain undisclosed, the deal is expected to make Ive a billionaire and grant Powell Jobs a significant stake in OpenAI.

A longstanding relationship

Ive and Powell Jobs have remained close since Steve Jobs’s death in 2011. In addition to investing in io, Powell Jobs has also backed LoveFrom through her investment platform, Emerson Collective. “LoveFrom wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for Laurene,” Ive told the Financial Times. “It feels to me like we grew up together.”

Despite her deep involvement with Ive’s OpenAI venture, Powell Jobs has not distanced herself from Apple, which is now racing alongside OpenAI and other major players to lead the A.I. race. “I’m still very close to the leadership team at Apple,” said Powell Jobs, whose estimated $14.2 billion net worth is largely tied to her holdings in Apple and The Walt Disney Company. “They’re really good people, and I want them to succeed also.”

Exactly what OpenAI is building remains tightly under wraps, though both Ive and Altman have insisted the device will not be another smartphone. Ive is aiming to design a product that counters the often unhealthy relationships people now have with their devices—a dynamic he acknowledges helping to create. “While some of the less positive consequences were unintentional, I still feel responsibility,” he said.

The tech industry today has become unrecognizable from the early 1990s, when, according to Ive, innovation was driven by a sense of “service to humanity.” He added, “I don’t feel that way about this place right now.” Powell Jobs echoed his concerns, pointing to the mental health crisis and the harmful effects of technology on young people.

Through their partnership with OpenAI, both hope to restore a more optimistic and humane vision for technology. “Many of us would say we have an uneasy relationship with technology at the moment,” said Ive. “Humanity deserves better.”



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Uber Names Its First Chief Operating Officer Since 2019 Amid Leadership Shakeup

Andrew Macdonald has been with Uber for 13 years. Sam Barnes/Sportsfile via Getty Images

Andrew MacDonald, a longtime executive at Uber, has been named the company’s president and its first chief operating officer in six years, the company announced yesterday (June 2). He is the first to hold the COO title since Barney Harford stepped down in 2019. Macdonald will report directly to CEO Dara Khosrowshahi and oversee Uber’s global mobility, delivery, and autonomous divisions, according to public filings.

“I’m as energized by Uber today as I was when I started more than a decade ago, and I’m excited for what the next decade holds,” said Macdonald in a statement.

Most recently, Macdonald served as Uber’s senior vice president of mobility and business operations. He joined the company in 2012 as its first general manager in Toronto. As part of his promotion, he will relocate from Toronto to New York City and receive $5 million in stock, subject to time- and performance-based conditions.

“This is a natural next step in our evolution as a company, as we drive growth by increasing engagement across our entire platform,” said Khosrowshahi, who has led Uber since 2017. The promotion does not affect Khosrowshahi’s role as CEO; in an internal memo, he reportedly reassured staff that he has “no plans to go anywhere anytime soon—other than fly around the globe trying to keep up with our ever-growing footprint.”

Dreams of becoming a “super app”

Macdonald’s new role comes amid Uber’s transition from a ride-hailing company to one focused on food delivery, travel and autonomous taxis. The company hopes to eventually build a “super app,” said Khosrowshahi last year.

Uber has shown strong enthusiasm for self-driving technology, expanding into the autonomous space through partnerships with companies like Waymo and Wayve. The company is also on solid financial footing: last month, it reported a 14 percent year-over-year increase in quarterly revenue to $11.5 billion, while quarterly profit surged to $1.7 billion, compared to a net loss of $654 million during the same period last year.

Macdonald isn’t the only executive rising through the ranks as Uber expands its global footprint. Pradeep Parameswaran, currently general manager for Asia Pacific, will take on the role of global head of mobility. Susan Anderson, who previously led Uber’s grocery and retail business, will become global head of delivery. Meanwhile, Sarfraz Maredia, head of delivery for the Americas, has been promoted to global head of autonomous mobility and delivery.

As part of the executive shake-up, Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty—a veteran of more than 12 years at Uber—will step down from his role as senior vice president of delivery. “It’s hard to imagine Uber without Pierre, because there hasn’t been much Uber without Pierre,” said Khosrowshahi in a statement. He did not provide details on what Gore-Coty plans to do next.



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Grammarly Co-Founder Max Lytvyn Maps A.I. Future After Raising $1B: Interview

Max Lytvyn, co-founder of Grammarly, speaking at Web Summit Vancouver 2025 on May 29. Vaughn Ridley/Web Summit via Sportsfile via Getty Images

Grammarly launched 16 years ago as a grammar-checking tool, but its founders always had more ambitious plans. One of them, Max Lytvyn, previously ran a plagiarism detection startup where he saw how often people struggled not with honesty, but with the sheer difficulty of writing clearly. With Grammarly, he set out to make the process of translating thoughts into words less intimidating. “Technology just wasn’t there to make it possible,” Lytvyn told Observer at the Web Summit in Vancouver this week.

That’s no longer the case. What began as a tool for fixing grammatical errors has evolved into a sophisticated A.I. platform helping users communicate more effectively across emails, documents, and messaging apps. Now, with a new $1 billion funding round led by General Catalyst—announced yesterday (May 29)—the San Francisco-based company is preparing to scale its A.I. capabilities even further.

The new funding will support Grammarly’s expansion across sales, marketing and acquisitions. “Moving fast means building fast, expanding the market fast, and potentially acquiring other companies to accelerate our progress,” said Lytvyn, who serves as the company’s head of revenue. Last valued at $13 billion in 2021, the company now reports more than $700 million in annual revenue and serves 40 million daily users.

The financing follows Grammarly’s acquisition of productivity startup Coda six months ago, a move that brought Coda CEO Shishir Mehrotra onboard as Grammarly’s new CEO. The leadership change is part of a broader push to grow Grammarly’s A.I. capabilities.

“The emerging technology has been an accelerant—we can do way more now,” said Lytvyn, noting that Grammarly’s suite of A.I. agents will expand beyond grammar, plagiarism and summarization to include workplace tools like fact-checkers and systems that retrieve data from customer relationship management platforms.

The rise of generative A.I. has also brought a roster of newfound rivals. “Some of the things that only we could do, now anybody could do. That’s fine, that’s the nature of technology,” said Lytvyn. He noted that Grammarly still retains the benefit of scale and ubiquitous integration across applications.

Will higher education embrace A.I.?

“The educational system has to teach to use A.I. effectively, rather than ban it,” said Lytvyn, who noted that students will need A.I. skills after they graduate and enter the workforce.

To support academic institutions navigating the challenges of A.I., Grammarly has rolled out tools like Authorship—a feature that identifies which parts of a document are original, A.I.-generated or copied from other sources. The tool echoes Lytvyn’s early work in plagiarism detection. “It’s almost like a next iteration of plagiarism detection,” he said.

But Grammarly’s user base now extends far beyond the classroom. “It’s from 6th graders all the way to professionals in every field,” said Lytvyn, who noted the company plans to eventually launch hundreds of specialized A.I. agents to support various communication needs. With the technology finally in place to realize Grammarly’s original vision, speed is now the priority. “A.I. accelerated everything, and to stay on top of this, we need to move fast,” he said.



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Futurist Ray Kurzweil’s Humanoid Robotics Startup Eyes a $500M Valuation

Futurist and tech inventor Ray Kurzweil is the co-founder of Beyond Imagination. Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Anti-Defamation League

Ray Kurzweil, a renowned inventor and futurist, has long envisioned a future where humans and A.I. work in tandem. Now, he’s edging closer to that reality with Beyond Imagination, a robotics startup reportedly seeking to raise $100 million in a Series B funding round, according to Reuters.

Kurzweil co-founded Beyond Imagination in 2018 with Harry Floor, a scientist and film producer, to develop autonomous A.I. systems capable of physical labor. The company is building humanoid robots aimed at addressing labor shortages in sectors such as health care and agriculture. Its advisory board includes motivational speaker Tony Robbins, former Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs, and former Paramount Pictures CEO James Gianopulos.

Between 2018 and 2019, the startup raised $4.2 million in seed funding and was most recently valued at $25 million, per Crunchbase. Reuters reported that its upcoming valuation could reach $500 million, with Gauntlet Ventures—a Dallas-based venture capital firm—expected to be the sole investor in the new round.

Humans and technology meld together in the ‘Singularity’

Kurzweil, a pioneer in fields ranging from A.I. and health to music technology, has received numerous accolades including the National Medal of Technology and Innovation and a Technical Grammy Award. Yet he’s best known as a futurist who believes in the concept of the “Singularity”—a moment when machines surpass human intelligence and humans merge with technology. While this notion seemed distant when Kurzweil published The Singularity Is Near in 2005, it now feels more plausible in the wake of A.I. advances like OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

In an interview last year, Kurzweil predicted that the kind of rapid progress seen in large language models (LLMs) will soon extend to robotics. He claimed that humanoid robots will eventually “do everything humans can do with our hands and bodies.”

Beyond Imagination’s robots, for instance, are designed to improve efficiency in physical labor and take on dangerous or undesirable jobs. The company has suggested possible roles ranging from surgical assistants to ghost kitchen staff. According to Reuters, it is also building an operating system to enable collaboration between humans, robots and other machines.



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OpenAI to Acquire iPhone Designer Jony Ive’s Year-old Startup for $6.5B

Jony Ive helped design the iPhone and other Apple products. Lia Toby/BFC/Getty Images

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman isn’t content with smartphones or laptops as the primary interfaces for A.I. in daily life. Good thing he has Jony Ive, the famed designer behind the iPhone, to help imagine what comes next. In its largest acquisition to date, OpenAI will buy out Ive’s year-old hardware startup, LoveFrom’s io, in a $6.5 billion deal. The merger, announced today (May 21), brings together Altman and Ive’s shared vision to create “a new family of products” built specifically for A.I., according to a blog post from OpenAI.

“I have a growing sense that everything I have learned over the last 30 years has led me to this moment,” said Ive, who will take on design and creative responsibilities across OpenAI and io via his design firm LoveFrom but remain independent from the A.I. company, in a statement. “While I am both anxious and excited about the responsibility of the substantial work ahead, I am so grateful for the opportunity to be part of such an important collaboration.”

Ive was first introduced to OpenAI after his son began experimenting with ChatGPT, he shared in a video accompanying the announcement. That curiosity led to a meeting with Altman, where the two began envisioning new hardware better suited to A.I.—a collaboration that inspired Ive to found io in 2024.

The startup was co-founded by Ive, who left Apple in 2019, along with several former Apple colleagues including Scott Cannon, Evans Hankey and Tang Tan. All are expected to join OpenAI with io’s 55-person team, reporting to OpenAI’s vice president of product, Peter Welinder. The company also received early backing from Emerson Collective, the investment firm founded by Laurene Powell Jobs.

Though Ive is known for shaping Apple’s minimalist design language—from the iMac and iPad to the iPhone—both he and Altman stress that their new project is not just another sleek gadget. Instead, they aim to rethink the way we interact with technology. The future device, they say, will be less clunky than a laptop and less screen-focused than a smartphone. “What it means to use technology can change in a profound way,” said Altman, adding that he hopes to “bring some of the delight, wonder and creative spirit that I first felt using an Apple Computer 30 years ago.”

Details about the device remain under wraps. This isn’t OpenAI’s first foray into consumer hardware—the company previously integrated its models into Humane’s $699 wearable pin, which ultimately failed to gain traction. The startup shut down operations shortly after the product’s launch.

Still, Altman is already enthusiastic about what’s to come. According to OpenAI’s video, Ive recently gave him a prototype to test at home. “I think it is the coolest piece of technology that the world will have ever seen,” said Altman.



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23andMe Has Found a Buyer—Here’s What Might Happen to Your Genetic Data

A biotech future built on data: Regeneron’s acquisition of 23andMe blurs the line between pharmaceutical innovation and genetic surveillance. Unsplash+

It’s been a turbulent stretch for 23andMe, the consumer DNA testing company once famous for its saliva-based ancestry kits. After grappling with financial losses, data breaches, lawsuits and a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, the company—and its vast genetic database of roughly 15 million users—is now being acquired by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, a Tarrytown, N.Y.-based biotech firm known for developing treatments for a wide range of diseases, both companies announced yesterday (May 19). The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025. Regeneron emphasized that it will uphold all relevant privacy laws and consumer protections regarding the handling of genetic data.

“We are pleased to have reached a transaction that maximizes the value of the business and enables the mission of 23andMe to live on, while maintaining critical protections around customer privacy, choice and consent with respect to their genetic data,” said Mark Jensen, chair of the special committee of 23andMe’s board of directors, in a statement.

The acquisition marks the end of a volatile chapter for 23andMe, which was co-founded in 2006 by Anne Wojcicki and quickly gained traction with its consumer-focused genetic health and ancestry tests. After going public in 2021, the company hit a peak valuation of $6 billion.

But the business model proved fragile. Most customers only needed to purchase a single test, limiting opportunities for recurring revenue. The situation worsened after a 2023 data breach compromised information from about 7 million users, triggering a class action lawsuit and further eroding trust.

Tensions escalated in September 2024 when 23andMe’s independent board members resigned, citing conflicts with Wojcicki. By March, the company filed for bankruptcy protection, and Wojcicki stepped down as CEO while signaling her intention to buy the business at auction. Her bid was ultimately topped by Regeneron.

Regeneron has developed and commercialized treatments for conditions including cancer, asthma, blindness, Ebola and Covid-19. “We believe we can help 23andMe deliver and build upon its mission to help those interested in learning about their own DNA and how to improve their personal health, while furthering Regeneron’s efforts to use large-scale genetics research to improve the way society treats and prevents illness overall,” said George Yancopoulos, the company’s president and chief scientific officer.

What will happen your genetic data?

As part of the acquisition, Regeneron will not only obtain 23andMe’s genetic database but also assume control of its health and business service divisions, offering continued employment to staff within those units. One exception is Lemonaid Health, 23andMe’s telehealth subsidiary, which will not be included in the deal and is set to be wound down.

Regeneron plans to share more details about its use of customer data once the acquisition is finalized. The company has already analyzed the genetic information of nearly 3 million consenting individuals through its Regeneron Genetics Center, an initiative to accelerate medical research. “The subsidiary has a proven track record of safeguarding personal genetic data, and we assure 23andMe customers that we will apply our high standards for safety and integrity to their data and ongoing consumer genetic services,” said George Yancopoulos.

Regeneron has stated that it will honor 23andMe’s existing privacy policies. In addition, its data security and privacy practices will undergo review by a court-appointed ombudsman and other stakeholders, with findings to be presented to the bankruptcy court in June.

Of the roughly 15 million people who submitted genetic data to 23andMe, approximately 84 percent consented to having their information used for research, according to the company. However, those permissions can be revoked or updated at any time by customers. Following public warnings from the attorneys general of California and New York encouraging users to delete their data, some have likely already taken steps to erase their genetic information from the platform.

“We share 23andMe’s founding vision of the power of genetics and data and the health benefits to individuals and society in understanding the human genome,” said Aris Baras, head of the Regeneron Genetics Center, in a statement. “We believe we are uniquely suited to be responsible and effective stewards of 23andMe’s future.”



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Sam Altman-Backed Startup Aims to Add 10 Years to Human Life Through Stem Cell Tech

OpenAI’s Sam Altman has poured millions into the longevity-focused Retro Biosciences. Sean Gallup/Getty Images

The average American can expect to live about 77 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retro Biosciences, a longevity startup backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, aims to raise that number to 87 through cutting-edge medical research.

Based in Redwood City, Calif., the company is leveraging recent breakthroughs in blood stem cell science from Australia’s Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) as part of its mission to extend human life by a decade. Alongside advancing critical work in blood research, Retro Biosciences says its licensing of MCRI’s discoveries could eventually support longer, healthier lifespans.

In a major step forward last year, MCRI researchers successfully generated blood stem cells from human cells—a breakthrough that could one day produce perfect cell matches for patients in need of blood stem cell or bone marrow transplants, helping avoid complications caused by mismatched donors. Now, through a $35 million partnership, Retro is licensing that research to create new therapies for blood disorders such as leukemia and bone marrow failure.

“By joining forces with Retro Biosciences, we are now on our way to providing personalized, patient-specific blood stem cells to treat children and adults with blood diseases,” said Elizabeth Ng, an associate professor at MCRI whose team led the discovery, in a statement. The goal is to advance the work to first-in-human clinical trials within five years, she added.

What is Retro Biosciences?

Founded in 2021, Retro Biosciences is developing biotechnology to combat aging and age-related diseases, using approaches like cellular reprogramming and protein engineering. Its bold aim to turn back the biological clock by a decade caught the attention of Altman, who initially invested $180 million in the startup. Retro is now seeking to raise an additional $1 billion from Altman, along with support from family offices, venture capital firms and sovereign wealth funds.

Retro believes MCRI’s stem cell technology could significantly accelerate the company’s regenerative anti-aging therapies. “We immediately saw the potential for sustaining a healthy blood system into late life,” said CEO Joe Betts-LaCroix in a statement, recalling the moment his team learned of the institute’s discovery.

Beyond blood research, the company is also working on brain cell regeneration and developing an Alzheimer’s treatment that is expected to enter early-stage trials in Australia later this year. It has also teamed up with OpenAI to create an A.I. model designed to reverse aging by engineering proteins that temporarily reprogram regular cells into stem cells.

Altman’s involvement with Retro runs deep. He reportedly helped Betts-LaCroix shape the company’s ten-year longevity goal during an off-site retreat at Altman’s ranch in Napa Valley, according to Endpoint News. Betts-LaCroix, in turn, is said to call Altman nearly every week to share updates on internal staff memos.

Altman is one of several tech leaders betting big on extending human lifespans. Longevity startups have surged in popularity across Silicon Valley, drawing investments from billionaires like Jeff Bezos, who has backed Altos Labs, a biotech firm focused on restoring cell health, and Unity Biotechnology, which targets age-related diseases. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong launched his own company, NewLimit, in 2021 to reprogram human genes for longevity. Meanwhile, investor Peter Thiel has donated millions to the Methuselah Foundation, a nonprofit advancing anti-aging research.



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A $20K Electric Pickup Truck Made by a Jeff Bezos-backed Startup Is Surprising Popular

The EV company offers a low-cost pickup truck. © Slate Automotive

Slate Auto, an electric vehicle startup based out of Troy, Mich., has garnered the attention of high-profile investors like Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. But its product is far from flashy: a no-frills, two-seater pickup truck with a base price under $20,000. The vehicle doesn’t have a touch-screen display or stereo, standard features seen in new cars today. Still, potential customers seem to appreciate the affordable price and retro approach. Slate received over 100,000 reservations less than three weeks after unveiling its pickup truck in April, TechCrunch first reported.

“We are truly humbled by America’s response to Slate’s brand launch and the launch of our truck,” said Jeremy Snyder, Slate’s chief commercial officer, in a statement to TechCrunch. “We are excited for what the future holds.”

Investors have also taken notice of Slate’s unconventional approach. In addition to support from Bezos Expeditions, Jeff Bezos’s family office, the company has reportedly raised $700 million from backers including General Catalyst and TWG Global—the holding company led by billionaires Mark Walter and Thomas Tull.

Slate’s minimalist truck is designed as a “blank slate,” giving customers the freedom to customize it. Instead of traditional paint, the vehicle is made from gray molded polypropylene, but buyers can choose from a wide range of colored vinyl wraps. The standard battery offers a 150-mile range, with an option to upgrade to a 240-mile pack. Customers can also purchase more than four dozen add-on accessories—such as integrated speakers, seat covers and door cubbies—though pricing for these extras hasn’t been disclosed.

Slate’s base model is a compact truck, but the company plans to offer DIY kits that allow customers to transform the vehicle into different configurations. One kit converts the truck into a five-seat SUV, while another adds van-like cargo space to the pickup.

Customers can opt for specialized kits to turn their trucks into a five-seater SUV. © Slate Automotive

More than 100,000 people have already reserved a so-called “Slate Truck,” but that number doesn’t guarantee actual sales. Reservations required only a $50 deposit, which is fully refundable if buyers change their minds.

Still, with a starting price under $20,000, Slate’s vehicles are among the most affordable EVs on the market. They’re significantly cheaper than the nearly $30,000 Nissan Leaf or $28,000 Ford Maverick, and cost a fraction of luxury models like Tesla’s Cybertruck or Rivian’s R1T, which start above $70,000.

Slate’s retail price tag is actually in the mid-$20,000 range, but the vehicle is expected to qualify for a $7,500 federal EV tax credit. The company’s U.S.-based supply chain may also shield it from many of the Trump administration’s tariffs on imported cars. Production is slated to begin in late 2026 at a former printing plant in Warsaw, Ind., with a goal of manufacturing 150,000 trucks annually by 2027.

“The idea for Slate goes back to 2022 when several visionary thinkers asked: could we build a radically affordable and simple car?” said Chris Barman, Slate’s CEO, during the automaker’s truck unveiling last month. “Then we took it a step further. Could we build it here in America?”



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