Maybe the $6.4 billion that OpenAI spent on Jony Ive’s company was money well spent after all.
More details are emerging around the launch of OpenAI’s new device.
The company’s Chief Global Officer, Chris Lehane, revealed that its first hardware device should be revealed in the second half of 2026.
The information was shared during an Axios event in Davos, Switzerland, according to TechCrunch.
Despite learning when the company may release its device, Lehane didn’t reveal what kind of device it might be.
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It was previously reported that the company won’t be creating a wearable or in-ear device. The company also hinted that it was leaning towards creating a pocket-sized device without a screen.
Consumer electronics blogger @zhihuipikachu shared on X that the device, codenamed “sweetpea,” may come in the form of earbuds.
Hearing fresh detail on Openai undefinedTo-goundefined hardware project from last report. Now confirmed it is a special audio product to replace Airpod, internal code name is undefinedSweetpeaundefined
undefined 智慧皮卡丘 Smart Pikachu (Weibo) (@zhihuipikachu) January 12, 2026
On manufacturing, Foxconn has been told to prepare for total 5 devices by Q4 2028. All not known but a home… https://t.co/svOCBuyapI pic.twitter.com/SFumFfRIeF
The user notes that the device may be introduced in September, with estimated shipments expected to reach 40 to 50 million units.
A Taiwanese newspaper has also reported that the device would be manufactured by Foxconn, a Taiwanese electronics manufacturer.
The news about OpenAI shifting to hardware development came after it struck a deal with Jony Ive, Apple’s ex-chief design officer and the co-founder of an AI company that the ChatGPT creator acquired last year for approximately $6.4 billion.
The deal didn’t happen without hiccups, with Ive’s company being involved in a trademark lawsuit over its name, io.
As a result of this lawsuit, it was revealed that the company is working on a device that “is not an in-ear device, nor a wearable device.”
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