OpenAI bets on AI-native hardware with Apple veterans

OpenAI is making a major push into consumer hardware, recruiting experienced engineers and lining up manufacturing partners as it develops a line of pocketable, AI-native devices that the company hopes to begin selling in late 2026 or early 2027, according to people familiar with the plans. The products under consideration include a speakerlike device without a display, wearable glasses, a digital voice recorder and a small wearable pin, and the company has already engaged suppliers and assemblers used by Apple as it builds prototypes and supply chains.

People with direct knowledge of the project said OpenAI has signed a contract with Luxshare to assemble at least one device and has approached Goertek for components such as speaker modules. The devices are being designed to work tightly with OpenAI’s large language models, creating what industry analysts describe as hardware built from the ground up to integrate AI rather than hardware with AI bolted on. Luxshare and Goertek did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and OpenAI has not publicly detailed product plans.

To support the push, OpenAI has aggressively recruited hardware and design talent from Apple, hiring...