OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, said it plans to unveil a new hardware device powered by artificial intelligence (AI) in the second half of this year. It declined to provide details such as the device's specific form or launch timing.
Chris Lehane, OpenAI's chief strategy and affairs officer, attended the Axios House Davos event in Davos, Switzerland, on the 19th and said, "We will be able to share news about a new device within this year," adding, "It will likely be in the second half, but things are proceeding as planned."
Lehane did not answer questions about whether the device would take the form of a "pin" or "earbuds," and did not say whether it would go on sale immediately after the second-half unveiling.
OpenAI signaled its entry into the hardware market last May by acquiring io, a startup founded by Jony Ive, who oversaw design at Apple. Since then, there have been steady reports that it is preparing a dedicated AI device.
Sam Altman, OpenAI's chief executive, said in November that he had seen a prototype made by Ive and called it "a design you want to take a bite out of," while Ive at the time said the launch timing would be "within two years." Altman also said, "Devices will play a decisive role in how people use AI," adding, "There will be real competition between OpenAI and Apple."
Earlier, U.S. tech outlet The Information reported that OpenAI is preparing an AI audio device that converses by voice without a screen. That has prompted speculation about various hardware forms, including glasses-type devices, earbuds and headphones, and smart speakers.
Meanwhile, Lehane said at the event that OpenAI's recently released introduction of advertising "helps secure computing resources to provide the technology free to hundreds of millions of users" through advertising revenue. On whether legal regulation of AI chatbot ads is necessary, he said, "Yes," adding, "We do not see the market as the only solution."