OpenAI has mysteriously removed a promotional video of CEO Sam Altman and former Apple designer Jony Ive from its website and YouTube channel. The clip showed the two chatting about the future of artificial intelligence hardware. It was posted to announce the $6.4 billion acquisition of Ive’s company io.
The reason the video was pulled? OpenAI has received a trademark complaint regarding the use of the name “io.”
This came from iyO, a company creating a voice-controlled audio computer with no screen. iyO started as a project in Alphabet’s “moonshot” lab and spun off in 2021. Its first product is a pair of AI-powered earphones.
Trademark complaint threatens momentum of io launch
OpenAI announced the complaint on its website, replacing a blog post about the io acquisition. It likely relates to the lawsuit that iyO filed shortly after news of the deal was made public in May, claiming that the name io infringes on its trademark and could confuse consumers, given that they are both AI companies.
Earlier this month, a California federal judge agreed with iyO’s concerns in a hearing and left open the potential to temporarily ban OpenAI from using the moniker “io,” according to Bloomberg.
“We don’t agree with the complaint and are reviewing our options,” OpenAI said on its website.
Mark Gurman, Bloomberg’s resident tech insider, confirmed that the judge did end up issuing a restraining order on OpenAI, and it had to pull all materials bearing the io name in response. Nevertheless, the deal is still “on track and has NOT dissolved or anything of the sort,” he posted on X.
OpenAI hired Ive and bought his company so that he could lead the design of OpenAI’s upcoming hardware project. While it remains unclear what exactly this will involve, The New York Times reported that the pair initially agreed to build an AI-driven hardware device two years ago. Their shared vision centers on “a product that uses AI to create a computing experience that is less socially disruptive than the iPhone.”
Prominent tech analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts that the device will feature “no display functionality” and can be worn around the neck, similar to the now-discontinued Humane AI pin. These rumours could have also played a part in spurring iyO into filing a lawsuit, as it doesn’t sound too different from an audio-only AI device.
OpenAI’s upcoming AI hardware, including the Ive device and Stargate supercomputer, will provide the platform for its newest model GPT-5, due to arrive later this summer. This will be a unified model that can handle everything seamlessly, from quick questions to complex, multi-step tasks using “reasoning” and agent-like tools like Deep Research.
OpenAI faces pressure from all over Silicon Valley
iyO is not the only company that OpenAI is getting heat from right now. Microsoft, with which it has been in partnership since 2019, is currently trying to negotiate a larger stake as Altman’s firm transitions to a public benefit corporation model.
Altman has made it clear that he wants to reduce OpenAI’s dependence on Microsoft as its sole infrastructure provider. Earlier this month, it was reported that the startup may turn to one of Microsoft’s biggest rivals, Google Cloud, to help fulfill its massive computing capacity needs.
OpenAI is also beginning to phase out its relationship with Scale AI, a once-critical data partner whose founder recently defected to rival Meta. While speculation swirls that Meta’s recent moves triggered the split, OpenAI insists that the decision was already in motion long before Mark Zuckerberg’s company intervened.
Apple might be happy about the roadblock to Altman and Ive’s partnership
Apple may be pleased to hear about the roadblock to OpenAI’s partnership with Ive, who was instrumental in shaping Apple’s design identity during his three-decade tenure. Gurman says Cupertino was rattled when Ive was hired, as whatever the pair is cooking up will certainly provide competition to the iPhone.
This is despite Apple falling behind in AI innovation. When Apple Intelligence launched last year, notably later than the iPhone 16, it proved to be “more branding than breakthrough,” Gurman said.
Its main features included Genmoji and Priority Notifications, but these felt somewhat outdated compared to the powerful multimodal capabilities of GPT-4o and agentic offerings of Gemini 2.0 Flash. In fact, while Google allows Gemini access to personal data for AI Mode in Search to deliver users more relevant results, Apple has yet to release a similar feature with Siri.
Apple’s most ambitious AI project to date — augmented reality AI-powered glasses — is expected to debut in late 2026. Gurman said the company is also working on a ChatGPT competitor that can pull data from the web, dubbed “Knowledge” by employees. However, he has been told “it’s already been plagued by some of the same problems that delayed the Siri overhaul.”
CEO Sam Altman is now accusing Meta of poaching OpenAI talent in the latest twist to the company’s escalating challenges. Catch up on that story here.
