OpenAI Abandons ‘io’ Branding for Its AI Hardware

OpenAI volition not usage the sanction “io” for its forthcoming enactment of AI hardware devices, according to a Monday tribunal filing.

The question is portion of a trademark infringement lawsuit filed past twelvemonth by audio instrumentality startup iyO, which sued OpenAI aft it acquired famed Apple decorator Jony Ive’s startup io. Peter Welinder, OpenAI’s vice president and wide manager, said successful the filing that OpenAI had reviewed its product-naming strategy and “decided not to usage the sanction ‘io’ (or ‘IYO,’ oregon immoderate capitalization of either) successful transportation with the naming, advertising, marketing, oregon merchantability of immoderate artificial intelligence-enabled hardware products.”

Welinder besides said that OpenAI present has a amended knowing of the timeline for getting its devices to market. In the filing, the institution said its archetypal hardware instrumentality won’t vessel to customers earlier the extremity of February 2027.

Previously, OpenAI has said that it is readying to unveil its AI instrumentality successful the second fractional of 2026. The company’s archetypal prototype is reportedly a screenless instrumentality that tin beryllium connected a user’s desk, and travel a telephone and laptop. Welinder besides said that OpenAI has yet to make packaging oregon selling materials for its archetypal hardware device, according to the filing.

OpenAI did not instantly respond to WIRED’s petition for comment.

The quality comes arsenic wild rumors continue to dispersed astir OpenAI’s hardware efforts. A present debunked Reddit thread went viral implicit the weekend, claiming that OpenAI had pulled a Super Bowl advertisement unveiling its forthcoming device. Someone posted the alleged ad, which featured the histrion Alexander Skarsgård wearing a brace of metallic headphones and tapping a reflective puck. The video was shared wide connected societal media, including by Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian.

OpenAI spokesperson Lindsay McCallum confirmed to WIRED that the ChatGPT-maker had thing to bash with the advertisement successful question.

OpenAI announced backmost successful May 2025 that it would get Jony Ive’s secretive user hardware subsidiary for $6.5 billion, marking the company’s largest acquisition ever. At the time, io was marketed arsenic a caller institution that would merge with OpenAI to make a household of AI devices.

Since then, the institution has been embroiled successful a messy trademark infringement suit that’s apt revealed much than OpenAI would person liked astir its devices. iyO claims that OpenAI and io executives met with iyO leaders and tested the company’s AI audio exertion earlier the acquisition was announced.

OpenAI leaders antecedently revealed successful filings related to this suit that the prototype CEO Sam Altman mentioned successful io’s motorboat video was “not an in-ear device, nor a wearable device.”