William Gallagher
The discussions between ex-Apple designer Jony Ive's LoveFrom company and SoftBank are reportedly over creation of a device that revolutionize the use of AI in the same way that the iPhone changed smartphones forever.
Following first reports of a collaboration between these firms to make an AI-powered hardware device, some new details have emerged. They include that SoftBank is in talks to contribute over $1 billion to the project.
According to the Financial Times, three unspecified sources have said that Jony Ive has been having brainstorming sessions at his San Francisco studio with OpenAI's Sam Altman. The sessions are said to have been centered on what a new consumer product with OpenAI technology could do, and could look like.
Reportedly, the intention is to find an equivalent of how the iPhone's multitouch innovations ignited the use of the mobile internet. It's not that the device would be a phone necessarily, but that it would present a user interface that was as new but instantly understandable as the iPhone's was in 2007.
Ive is apparently also keen on finding a way to interact with computers that cuts down users' reliance on screens.
As well as the funding contribution, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son is presumed to have been proposing that the device be powered by a processor made by its ARM division.
Discussions between Son, Ive, and Altman have also concerned forming a new company to draw on the expertise in each of their firms. Reportedly, the sources have described the discussions as "serious," but no deal is in place.
The sources also say that it could be many months before any joint venture is formally announced. And the device itself is likely to take years to develop.
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
Malcolm Owen
8 Comments
Just can't get enough blather about vaporware that might or might not be real within the next 5 to 10 years. Ooooh, I can hardly wait :neutral:
Also can't wait for news sites to update their photo of the now verging upon the obese Ives. That might be my cheap shot of the day…… might!
I have a feeling that Apple will beat to it by the time Jony has his first prototype.
It’s challenging that on the one hand they’re considering things that are at a very conceptual and nearly theoretical level, but the people who are forking over the funding are already injecting implementation level constraints, i.e., it should run on an ARM platform. It’s like saying, “We want you to think outside the box, but it has to fit into our box.”
While this isn’t an unusual business request for those who are investing the funds, it does make Jony’s job just a little more challenging. But I think he’s up to the task, especially after having worked successfully with Steve Jobs who must also have placed restraints on him and his team to eventually land on a solution that made financial sense for the company.
No screens? I eagerly await to see what they come up with but I hope it isn’t some sort of brain implant. A bone conduction transducer or earpiece, maybe I’m okay with that.
The iPhone of AI is literally "nothing". It's everywhere yet you can't see it. Invisible yet always ready to serve. You can access it in any way you wish, by voice, by facial expression, whatever. Imagine holding up a leaf and saying "Computer, what kind of plant is this?" and a voice from the ether tells you and it knows context so if it's a poisonous plant, it will let you know, and if you're already poisoned, what to do, and it contacts medical assistance for you.