OpenAI claims that its joint project with Jony Ive called io, which was recently removed due to a trademark dispute, is not developing an AI wearable device, unlike its competitors, including iyO, which filed the lawsuit, TechCrunch reports.
iyO, a startup that creates an AI-powered headset that doesn't require any other devices, is suing over the similar name "io." Both companies also develop AI devices, but OpenAI's court documents show that their products can be very different.
Tan Tan, a former Apple executive and now co-founder and chief hardware officer at io, said in a court filing that the startup is not developing headphones or any other wearable devices. He added that the prototype design is not yet complete, and the finished product will not be available for marketing or sale for at least a year.
Currently, most AI hardware startups are developing wearables, such as smart glasses from Meta, Google, or even Apple, an earpiece from iyO, or completely separate physical devices from Humane and Rabbit. However, io says it is working on a different type of gadget, though it won't say which one.
Earlier, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, said during the announcement of the new startup that in the future the company will offer a whole family of devices with artificial intelligence, but did not go into further details. During a meeting with company employees, he noted that this device will be compact enough to fit in a pocket. He also noted that the device will fully recognize the user's environment and will become a "third gadget" - an addition to a smartphone and laptop.
Despite Tan Tan's claims that the company's device will not be wearable, previous research by io, which also emerged from the lawsuit, suggests otherwise. In particular, over the past few months, the startup has been actively researching the headphone market and even held meetings with iyO to test their gadget.
io executives were not happy with the iyO demonstration due to technical issues, but they were still considering learning from competitors. One of the emails released in the case mentioned that iyO uses ear scans from The Ear Project to customize its headset. In correspondence between Tan and another io employee, the startup’s CEO even suggested purchasing the company’s extensive database of 3D scans, which could be “a useful starting point for understanding ergonomics.”
Even with the additional details, io executives continued to deny to the judge that they are working on any wearable product, as iyO is doing.