Over the weekend, OpenAI removed all promo materials related to its $6.5 billion buddy-buddy partnership with Apple design legend Jony Ive and their still unannounced AI-centric device. This wasn’t a falling out between the two titans in tech, but rather the result of something altogether stranger. The nixed webpages and videos are due to a trademark lawsuit filed by a separate startup, iyO, which is seemingly miffed about the companies names being a single letter apart.
On July 20, California federal Judge Trina L. Thompson granted a temporary restraining order against OpenAI that forced it to remove all mentions of Ive’s design company, “io.” You can still find the bromance video of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Ive—who helped bring us products like the iMac and iPhone—on YouTube through unofficial uploads. A page on OpenAI’s site that previously talked up its partnership with Ive now reads:
“This page is temporarily down due to a court order following a trademark complaint from iyO about our use of the name “io.” We don’t agree with the complaint and are reviewing our options.”
What’s the distinction between iyO Inc. and io, other than the inclusion of everybody’s favorite sometimes vowel? iyO also makes “hardware and software allowing users to do everything they currently do on a computer, phone, or tablet without using a physical interface.” Which is to say, it’s an AI device company. Jony Ive and several other ex-Apple staff founded io in 2023. Since then, it poached some big-name Apple design stars, though the company hadn’t released any real products in that time. Ive’s design firm, LoveFrom, helped design a button for a separate fashion designer.
iyO has been around since 2021, though its latest product—an in-ear headset called the iyO One—is still up for preorder. It’s a device that claims to replace apps by letting users talk in natural language to a chatbot that then computes for you. It requires an audiologist to make an impression of your ear and costs $1,000 for a version with Wi-Fi connectivity or even more for a version with LTE. The device maker claimed in its lawsuit it is manufacturing an initial batch of 20,000 units and is still looking to raise more funds. The AI device maker sued IO Products and OpenAI earlier this month and said it was seeking an immediate restraining order and injunction to stop Ive and OpenAI from using their two-letter brand name. iyO claimed it sought some investment from OpenAI and LoveFrom, though Altman told them in March that it was “working on something competitive so will respectfully pass.”
“Defendants [AKA OpenAI and Ive] have known about the existence of iyO, the iyO Marks, and the nature of iyO’s technology since at least 2022,” the AI device maker claims in its lawsuit. “Indeed, the parties had a series of meetings with representatives of OpenAI’s principal, Sam Altman, and designers from LoveFrom Inc., a design studio founded by Jony Ive, about the prospect of iyO and OpenAI working together.” For its part, OpenAI said in response to the lawsuit it had decided not to pursue any collab or funding with iyO. The makers of ChatGPT said it surveyed many existing commercial AI devices in the run-up to its May partnership announcement. Ive even went as far as to say the Rabbit R1 and Humane Ai Pin were “very poor products.”
The name “io” derives from a tech term referring to “input/output,” such as the “IO ports” like USB or HDMI you may find on a typical PC. In a statement published on the opening salvo for the lawsuit, iyO cofounder Justin Rugolo said OpenAI was trying to “trample” on the rights of his “small startup.” Rugolo also claimed he had messaged Altman saying that investors were concerned about confusion surrounding the company’s names. Rugolo complained that OpenAI had previously sued a separate artificial intelligence company, Open Artificial Intelligence, over a similar trademark claim.
At the very least, this lawsuit offers a few more slim details about what Ive and Altman have in store. In its response to iyO’s claims, OpenAI said, “io is at least a year away from offering any goods or services, and the first product it intends to offer is not an in-ear device like the one Plaintiff is offering.” OpenAI further suggested whatever spins out of io will be a “general consumer product for the mass market.”
It’s unlikely that we’ll see work stop on whatever Ive and co. are working on. There are more hearings surrounding this trademark case slated for the months ahead. The lawsuit offers yet another glimpse into the high-stakes world of AI wearable startups and just how hard it is to come up with a device that can match the versatility of an iPhone. We’ll still have to wait at least a year to see if anybody can cook up something more usable than an earpiece that lets you talk to a chatbot.
