Did they “steal” an earplug for $6.5 billion? OpenAI's first hardware is exposed for plagiarism, and Apple's genius designer has a setback.

Is the brand-new AI hardware that Altman and Jony Ive are working on, from the product to the name, entirely plagiarized? Just now, IYO, a company incubated by Google X, sued OpenAI in court, uncovering the truth behind the $6.5 billion acquisition. Even Musk came to watch the show.

Just now, Altman was sued!

A month ago, OpenAI announced its largest acquisition in history - a $6.5 billion all-equity acquisition of io, an AI device startup founded by former Apple legend designer Jony Ive.

At that time, many people were bombarded with photos of the two of them.

It was reported today that the brand and product ideas of IO were completely plagiarized?

Their IO product was accused of plagiarizing IYO, a company spun off from Google X.

The founder of IYO firmly stated: "We will never let Sam and Jony steal our name!"

Altman once listened to IYO's proposal but rejected it. Then he asked Jony Ive to copy their ideas and spent $6.5 billion to acquire Jony Ive's company.

Even the name of the new company - IO - was plagiarized from IYO.

Interestingly, the photo of the two of them was also included in the lawsuit documents.

Perhaps out of guilt, the photo of Altman and Jony has been removed from the official website. The name "IO" has also been deleted from the website.

Altman's arch-rival, Musk, also showed up to watch the show.

A startup is rejected, and then its ideas are plagiarized by a big company

Well, this story is not new in Silicon Valley.

In the past decade, every Silicon Valley lawsuit has been similar -

A startup pitches its product to a big tech company and is politely rejected. Then, a few years later, they suddenly find that the company has launched a "strikingly similar" product, executed better and with unlimited resources.

This pattern is so common that the lawsuit document template is even joked about as "ready-made."

This time, the story is no different.

Jason Rugolo, the founder of IYO, is also a designer and inventor.

In a TED talk a year ago (on May 9, 2024), he unveiled IYO's new product - the "audio computer," claiming it would revolutionize the way we use devices.

It is said that this device can enhance surrounding sounds, translate conversations in real-time, respond naturally to your voice, and talk to you like a friend.

As a result, after Altman and Jony Ive's actions, this product has suddenly become OpenAI's new AI hardware?

A month ago, when the acquisition was announced, Altman posted on X that he would work with "the world's greatest designer" to create the next-generation AI computer and seize the next iPhone moment.

It was said at the time that "ChatGPT needs a better carrier."

The collaboration between OpenAI and io aims to develop an AI device "beyond the screen" to revolutionize the way humans interact with AI.

Then, the two recorded a 9-minute documentary in which Jony Ive highly praised Altman.

Netizens interpreted this as "Altman is the closest person to the modern-day Steve Jobs."

Now, it all seems so ironic...

The 9-minute documentary could also be called "How to plagiarize in the most creative way."

The 27-page court document exposes the truth

By carefully examining this 27-page lawsuit document, we can summarize the following timeline.

As early as around March 2018, the IYO team under Google X began developing its product.

Google X is a cutting-edge institution within Google that solves major global problems. It is said that Google had invested $25 million in the IYO project at that time.

In August 2021, IYO became an independent startup after spinning off from Google X. After that, Google added another $37.2 million in investment for the development of next-generation hardware.

After years of effort, IYO named its new product "IYO ONE."

This is a new computing device without a screen. It is worn on the ear and uses dedicated microphones and bone conduction audio technology. Users can control audio-based applications simply by voice.

It can run applications like a smartphone, talk to users in natural language, and applications will respond to users in natural language, achieving interaction through the industry's top audio presentation technology.

Once launched, this product immediately received a warm market response and excellent pre-sale results. Encouraged, IYO produced the first batch of 20,000 IYO ONE devices and was preparing to launch them into the market and conduct the next round of financing.

Actually, since 2022, Altman and designers from LoveFrom, a design company founded by Jony Ive, have had multiple rounds of talks with the IYO team to discuss the possibility of cooperation.

However, later, OpenAI rejected the cooperation.

But their sneaky actions did not stop. For example, Tang Yew Tan, a co-founder of IO, and an engineer from the company ordered the first-generation product of IYO and pre-ordered IYO ONE.

In 2025, IYO, OpenAI, and LoveFrom held another meeting to discuss whether OpenAI would participate in IYO's financing round.

In this meeting, the unsuspecting IYO revealed all of its company's technical solutions and product forms still in development to OpenAI. They even let seven OpenAI members try on the prototype of IYO ONE.

After the meeting, OpenAI said that IYO ONE was a very promising product and even asked IYO to disclose relevant intellectual property content.

What happened next caught IYO off guard.

On May 21, 2025, OpenAI announced a $6.5 billion acquisition of Jony Ive's new company, IO. The product they announced to develop is not just similar to IYO's smart hardware; it is exactly the same -

"Users can interact with smartphones, computers, AI, and the Internet without traditional physical interfaces such as screens, keyboards, and mice."

In the promotional image on the official website, OpenAI also shamelessly wrote a proud declaration.

So, was the negotiation a fake, and the real intention was to plagiarize secretly?

IYO, feeling helpless, watched as OpenAI took away its accumulated brand reputation and consumer recognition. Its marketing plans, production plans, and financing were all disrupted.

Now, all IYO can do is sue OpenAI in court.

Netizens: $6.5 billion for a smart earplug?

After reading about this incident, netizens quickly noticed something -

So, the mysterious AI hardware product that OpenAI has spent so much effort on is just a smart earplug?

Spending $6.5 billion on a smart earplug seems like a high price?

Moreover, Altman's actions seem strangely familiar.

For example, when the AI voice was rejected by Scarlett Johansson for authorization, they simply bypassed her and created a "Her," stealing Scarlett's voice.

Some netizens even made a summary - how much has OpenAI stolen?

After this incident, Jony Ive's reputation as