OpenAI reportedly acquires AI camera startup Glass Imaging for over $300M

OpenAI has reportedly acquired Glass Imaging, a startup specializing in AI-enhanced smartphone camera software, for more than $300 million. The deal, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, closed in recent months, though neither company has publicly confirmed it. Glass Imaging was founded in 2019 in Los Altos, California, by former Apple engineers Ziv Attar and Tom Bishop. The pair previously led the team behind Apple's Portrait Mode. The startup's technology uses custom neural networks trained on the specific quirks of individual camera modules to improve image quality at the raw sensor level. This approach aims to deliver sharper images, better low-light performance, and zoom capabilities approaching DSLR quality without inventing details. The software has already been deployed in consumer devices. Chinese smartphone maker Honor uses Glass Imaging's technology for zoom on its 600 series phones. The company has also demonstrated real-time video improvements on Qualcomm chipsets. In 2025, Glass Imaging claimed its approach could deliver up to 10 times better camera performance from the same hardware.