At the end of May, OpenAI acquired Jony Ive’s company io, which produces artificial intelligence hardware. It is seen as OpenAI’s most serious effort to produce an evolution in the world of mobile devices that will replace smartphones. A website and video were created in conjunction with the announcement.
But since yesterday, the site is no longer accessible and the announcement video has been removed from YouTube due to copyright issues with the use of the name “io”. In a statement given to The Verge, OpenAI said that a court order has been received to remove all branding and announcements for io. This is due to a chip rights issue filed by iyO, a startup that produces an “audio computer” that also uses artificial intelligence (AI).
iYO has been selling two audio computers that are worn like earphones that can understand voice commands given by users. Since both companies have similar-sounding names and offer wearable AI hardware, there has been a dispute over who has the right to use the name.