SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — OpenAI has recruited Jony Ive, the designer behind Apple’s iPhone, to lead a new hardware project for the artificial intelligence company that makes ChatGPT. OpenAI said it is acquiring io, a product and engineering company co-founded by Ive, in a deal valued at nearly $6.5 billion.

Jony Ive has been called the "world's greatest designer." He created the look and feel of the iPhone, perhaps the most culture-changing device of the 21st century. Now Ive is joining OpenAI, hoping to create another transformative piece of personal technology.

OpenAI will buy Ive’s startup in a $6.5 billion deal, as Ive and CEO Sam Altman work on new generation of devices and other AI products.