OpenAI is developing its first hardware device — a screenless smart speaker with integrated AI and mechanical elements capable of moving on their own. The project is being built largely by former Apple engineers who helped create the iPhone and Mac.
Key takeaways
- The device is screenless and features mechanical moving elements
- It has been described internally as an AI companion — a physical manifestation of ChatGPT in the home
- It is being built largely by former Apple engineers with experience on iPhone and Mac
- The device will have access to the user's emails and digital life to provide personalized service
- OpenAI is simultaneously in a trade secret lawsuit with Apple over hardware
Project details
According to Bloomberg, OpenAI is positioning it differently from conventional smart speakers like Amazon Echo or Google Nest. The device is meant to have a personality, proactively learn about its owner over time, and provide increasingly personalized service. Access to emails is one of the channels through which the device would gather context about the user.
The mechanical moving elements were not described in detail by Bloomberg. The device is still in the design phase with no confirmed launch date.
Ex-Apple, now OpenAI
Bloomberg describes the involvement of former Apple engineers who were instrumental in creating products such as the iPhone and Mac. This is not an accidental hiring choice — it is an attempt to transfer hardware know-how from the industry that defined consumer standards for two decades.
OpenAI internally argues the device veers significantly from anything Apple has on the market and that it is unlikely it violates Apple trade secrets?Trade secrets: Commercially valuable information protected from disclosure — such as product designs, source code, and customer lists. Protected in the US under the Defend Trade Secrets Act.. Apple sued OpenAI one week earlier, alleging systematic theft of trade secrets related to unreleased hardware. The lawsuit names Tang Tan, OpenAI's Chief Hardware Officer and a former Apple vice president of 24 years, as the alleged orchestrator.
Market context: the AI hardware race
OpenAI is not alone pursuing hardware as an AI product category. In May 2026, Hark — a startup founded by Brett Adcock — raised an oversubscribed $700M Series A at a $6B valuation to build personal intelligence. The consumer AI hardware category has seen major failures: Rabbit R1 and Humane AI Pin both disappointed.
OpenAI's strategy
Entering hardware marks a move beyond a pure-software model. OpenAI's prior strategy centered on API access, ChatGPT as an app, and Microsoft as a distribution channel. A physical device is a new layer: a direct user touchpoint with no intermediary platform.
Why this matters
OpenAI's hardware device — even without a confirmed launch date — shifts the industry's strategic map. OpenAI is signaling platform ambitions beyond a chatbot: it wants to own a physical touchpoint in the user's world. This is a direct move onto the territory of Apple, Amazon, and Google. For the labor market, it means continued absorption of hardware talent from companies whose products shaped billions of users.
What's next
- OpenAI has not provided a launch date or price — the device is in active design
- The Apple lawsuit will likely impose legal constraints on hiring former Apple employees and on hardware communications
- The trade secret discovery process may reveal how advanced the project is and the specific technologies at issue
