Tesla CEO Elon Musk has reacted to the legal drama surrounding OpenAI . The world richest man reacted with a skeptical "🤨" emoji on social media platform X (earlier Twitter) to a post that mentioned the development. This comes after OpenAI removed all references to "io," the hardware startup co-founded by Jony Ive , from its website and social media. This move follows a trademark dispute with "iyO," an existing smart earbud company. The Sam Altman-led AI startup that announced a $6.5 billion deal to acquire Ive's startup said that the removal was due to a "court order" but disagreed with the complaint.
Musk's emoji reaction came on X (formerly Twitter) to a post detailing the lawsuit, which alleged that OpenAI had previously heard iyO's pitch before proceeding to allegedly copy the concept with Jony Ive and then acquire his company, naming it "io." In the post, the user wrote: "Google X spin out IYO, which makes smart ear buds from 2018, alleges Sam Altman / OpenAI heard their pitch, passed, got Jony Ive to try it before copying it, buying his co for $6.5B and calling it IO."
The "🤨" emoji shared by Musk is commonly used to express skepticism, disbelief, or suspicion.
All references of Jony Ive’s startup removed from OpenAI’s online properties
After the removal, both the original blog post and a nine-minute video featuring Jony Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are no longer accessible online. In the deleted content, Altman and Ive had announced that “the io team, focused on developing products that inspire, empower and enable, will now merge with OpenAI to work more intimately with the research, engineering and product teams in San Francisco.”
OpenAI has not provided further updates on the trademark dispute or when the content may return, but confirmed to The Verge that the deal is still moving forward.
Originally announced on May 21, OpenAI’s acquisition of io, the AI hardware startup founded by former Apple Chief Design Officer Jony Ive, is valued at $6.4 billion in equity. The amount also includes OpenAI’s earlier investment in io, effectively consolidating its previous stake into full ownership.
This marks OpenAI’s largest acquisition to date, surpassing past deals like the $3 billion Windsurf buyout and the acquisition of analytics startup Rockset.
Musk's emoji reaction came on X (formerly Twitter) to a post detailing the lawsuit, which alleged that OpenAI had previously heard iyO's pitch before proceeding to allegedly copy the concept with Jony Ive and then acquire his company, naming it "io." In the post, the user wrote: "Google X spin out IYO, which makes smart ear buds from 2018, alleges Sam Altman / OpenAI heard their pitch, passed, got Jony Ive to try it before copying it, buying his co for $6.5B and calling it IO."
The "🤨" emoji shared by Musk is commonly used to express skepticism, disbelief, or suspicion.
All references of Jony Ive’s startup removed from OpenAI’s online properties
After the removal, both the original blog post and a nine-minute video featuring Jony Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are no longer accessible online. In the deleted content, Altman and Ive had announced that “the io team, focused on developing products that inspire, empower and enable, will now merge with OpenAI to work more intimately with the research, engineering and product teams in San Francisco.”
OpenAI has not provided further updates on the trademark dispute or when the content may return, but confirmed to The Verge that the deal is still moving forward.
Originally announced on May 21, OpenAI’s acquisition of io, the AI hardware startup founded by former Apple Chief Design Officer Jony Ive, is valued at $6.4 billion in equity. The amount also includes OpenAI’s earlier investment in io, effectively consolidating its previous stake into full ownership.
This marks OpenAI’s largest acquisition to date, surpassing past deals like the $3 billion Windsurf buyout and the acquisition of analytics startup Rockset.
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