OpenAI has taken down all public materials referencing its AI hardware partnership with former Apple designer Jony Ive, following a trademark lawsuit over the brand name “io.” The removal includes the official blog post and a nine-minute video featuring Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Both were originally released to announce OpenAI’s $6.5 billion acquisition of Ive’s hardware startup, IO Products.
The lawsuit comes from IYO Inc., a separate company developing AI devices, which claims the “io” brand infringes on its trademark. As a result, a court order forced OpenAI to temporarily remove the content. Despite the dispute, OpenAI says the deal remains intact and the partnership continues, just without the branding for now.
Court Order Halts Branding, Not the Deal
OpenAI confirmed that it removed the materials due to a legal challenge from IYO, a startup spun out of Google’s research lab. The company told The Verge, “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.”
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Ive’s spokesperson also pushed back, telling Bloomberg, “This is an utterly baseless complaint and we’ll fight it vigorously.” While the name is in question, neither side has signaled any intention of pulling out of the agreement.
Branding Future in Limbo
The original partnership positioned IO Products as a core component of OpenAI’s strategy to build consumer-facing AI devices with a human-centered design. With branding now suspended, it’s unclear whether the final product will carry the “io” name.
OpenAI removed all references to IO Products from its site and social media platforms. But the company still plans to integrate Ive’s team into its San Francisco operations, where they will collaborate with OpenAI’s product, research, and engineering divisions.
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