The motion is part of a trademark infringement lawsuit filed last year by audio device startup iyO, which sued OpenAI after it acquired famed Apple designer Jony Ive’s startup io. Peter Welinder, vice president and general manager of OpenAI, said in the filing that OpenAI has reviewed its product-naming strategy and “has decided not to use the name ‘io’ (or ‘IYO’, or any capitalization of both) in connection with the naming, advertising, marketing or sales of any artificial intelligence-enabled hardware products.”
Welinder also said that OpenAI now has a better understanding of the timelines for bringing its tools to market. In the filing, the company said its first hardware devices will not be shipped to customers before the end of February 2027.
Earlier, OpenAI has said that it plans to unveil its AI device in the second half of 2026. The company’s first prototype is reportedly a screenless device that can sit on a user’s desk, and come with a phone and laptop. According to the filing, Welinder also said that OpenAI has not yet created packaging or marketing materials for its first hardware device.
OpenAI did not immediately respond to WIRED’s request for comment.
This news comes as wild rumors continue to spread about OpenAI’s hardware efforts. A now-debunked Reddit thread went viral over the weekend, claiming that OpenAI had taken out a Super Bowl ad unveiling its upcoming device. Someone posted the alleged ad, which featured actor Alexander Skarsgård wearing a pair of silver headphones and tapping a reflective puck. The video was shared widely on social media, including by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.
OpenAI spokesperson Lindsay McCallum confirmed to WIRED that the ChatGPT-creator had nothing to do with the ad in question.
OpenAI announced in May 2025 that it would acquire Jony Ive’s secretive consumer hardware subsidiary for $6.5 billion, the company’s largest acquisition to date. At the time, io was marketed as a new company that would merge with OpenAI to create a family of AI tools.
Since then, the company has been embroiled in a messy trademark infringement lawsuit, possibly stemming from OpenAI’s choice over its tools. iyO claims that before the acquisition was announced, OpenAI and io executives met with iyO leaders and tested the company’s AI audio technology.
OpenAI leaders previously revealed in filings related to the lawsuit that the prototype CEO Sam Altman mentioned in IO’s launch video was “not an in-ear device, nor a wearable device.”
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