Jony Ive's OpenAI is poaching some of Apple's best people and hitting up iPhone component manufacturers, betting it can succeed at hardware where others have flopped.

OpenAI is aggressively poaching Apple talent with $1M+ stock offers. It promises less bureaucracy to lure veterans in design, manufacturing, and supply chain.

The exodus is being steered by Tang Tan, OpenAI's chief hardware officer and a 25-year Apple veteran. Tan once reported to John Ternus, Apple's hardware chief, and was known for turning Jony Ive's sketches into mass-manufactured products.

Tang Tan, according to The Information, says OpenAI offers more freedom, collaboration, and bigger ideas than Apple's slow updates. He has already recruited Cyrus Daniel Irani from Apple's human interface design team and Erik de Jong from Apple Watch hardware.

Matt Theobald, a 17-year Apple veteran in manufacturing design, has also joined the team. Tan's growing group of ex-Apple talent is fueling OpenAI's push into hardware.

The talent drain accelerated after OpenAI acquired io Products in May 2025 for $6.5 billion. The startup, co-founded by Ive and Tan, gave OpenAI a ready-made design shop and the credibility of Apple's most celebrated designer.

Ive still runs his LoveFrom studio but is now spending increasing time at OpenAI's San Francisco office.

Chasing Apple's supply chain

Recruiting Apple veterans is only half the plan. OpenAI is also copying Apple's playbook in China, striking deals with the very suppliers that assemble iPhone and AirPods.

Luxshare, a key Apple partner, has already agreed to build at least one OpenAI device. Goertek, another Apple supplier, has been approached for speaker modules.

Apple spent decades building that supply chain. OpenAI is trying to piggyback on it in less than two years.

The company is considering products that range from a smart speaker without a screen to glasses, a digital voice recorder, and even a wearable pin. The target launch window is late 2026 or early 2027.

Apple's awkward bind

Apple has noticed the poaching spree. In August it canceled an annual offsite in China. The company worried that too many executives away from Cupertino could defect to OpenAI.

That reaction shows how seriously Apple views the threat. More than 70% of its revenue still comes from devices. If AI-first hardware takes off, losing staff to OpenAI could be an existential risk.

The rivalry is also messy because the two companies are still partners. Since 2024, Apple has licensed OpenAI's models for Siri and its Image Playground app.

They're even discussing a deeper tie-up for an overhauled Siri. Yet OpenAI is raiding Apple's workforce and suppliers at the same time.

Apple has long thrived on tight integration between hardware and software. The A-series and M-series chips gave it an edge competitors couldn't easily copy.

AI could become the defining feature of the next wave of devices. The advantage may go to whoever builds the best AI models rather than the slickest aluminum case.