OpenAI’s first foray into hardware devices is reported to be a mobile smart speaker with integrated AI capabilities that can sync with ChatGPT and offer other home AI services.
Bloomberg reported Tuesday that the device, currently in development, is designed to be screen-less and is being promoted internally as a “human-like AI companion for your home.”
OpenAI has long claimed it wants to launch a hardware product. Some rumors suggest that OpenAI will compete with Apple by launching its own mobile phone.
OpenAI’s new device sounds like something different from traditional smart speakers. Sources explained to Bloomberg that the device has a “personality” and can actively learn about its owner over time to provide more personalized services. Sources say the machine can access a user’s digital life and pull information such as emails.
The device is also oddly described as containing “mechanical elements that can move on their own,” and the Bloomberg report includes the detail that the device is “designed to feel like a companion and be a physical representation of OpenAI ChatGPT.”
The device was developed with the help of many former Apple engineers who played key roles “in creating products like the iPhone and Mac,” Bloomberg wrote. In fact, OpenAI may be trying to launch a new line of hardware, but the company is currently struggling with hardware-related legal issues.
Last week, Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing it of stealing trade secrets. Apple also argued that the claims involved in the lawsuit are merely allegations. This is the “tip of the iceberg” and more misconduct will be revealed during the legal investigation. OpenAI has denied wrongdoing.
Citing unnamed sources with knowledge of OpenAI’s plans, Bloomberg wrote that the company feels its new product is “substantially different from anything Apple currently releases” and is “unlikely to violate trade secrets” owned by Apple.
OpenAI’s push comes as the tech world becomes more broadly interested in consumer AI hardware. Hark, an AI research lab founded by Brett Adcock, raised a $700 million Series A investment in May at a valuation of $6 billion to build ‘personal intelligence.’ It is a proprietary AI model combined with custom hardware designed to be a ‘universal interface between humans and machines.’
The company has yet to detail the form factor of the device, highlighting how much capital it has chasing this category even before the product launches.
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