A bold new collaboration between OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and iconic Apple designer Jony Ive has been forced into an abrupt pause after a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction over a trademark dispute—putting one of Silicon Valley’s most high-profile hardware bets in legal limbo.

The partnership, announced in May, centers on building a next-generation artificial intelligence device—an ambitious effort to marry Altman’s frontier AI development with Ive’s celebrated minimalist hardware design ethos. As part of the plan, OpenAI revealed it would acquire io Products, a product and engineering company co-founded by Ive, in a deal reportedly worth $6.5 billion. The initiative was quietly years in the making, with backing from Altman’s personal investment arm and rumored support from SoftBank.

But the fanfare was short-lived.

Just days after OpenAI publicized the acquisition, a lesser-known California startup named IYO Inc. filed a federal trademark lawsuit claiming it had previously pitched its AI device concept to both Altman’s and Ive’s teams back in 2022. IYO, which is also developing AI-integrated hardware, argues that OpenAI’s new “io” branding is confusingly similar to its own and that the tech giant is infringing on a name and concept it introduced first.

IYO CEO Jason Rugolo said in court filings that his company not only has prior trademark rights but also shared confidential ideas about hardware use cases and branding—only to watch a powerful duo later roll out something strikingly similar.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson agreed that IYO’s claim merited serious consideration. She issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting OpenAI, Altman, and Ive from using “the IYO mark, and any mark confusingly similar thereto, including the IO mark,” for any product marketing or public materials related to the AI hardware initiative. A full hearing on the matter is scheduled for October.

As a result, OpenAI has scrubbed all mention of the new hardware venture from its website. The May 21st announcement page now displays a notice stating the content is “temporarily down due to a court order,” and includes a terse message: “We don’t agree with the complaint and are reviewing our options.”

In a sharply worded public statement, IYO’s Rugolo made clear he’s not intimidated by OpenAI’s muscle.

“IYO will not roll over and let Sam and Jony trample on our rights, no matter how rich and famous they are,” Rugolo said Monday.

The case shines a rare spotlight on the opaque and competitive world of AI hardware development—a sector still in its early days, but one that major players like OpenAI, Google, and Apple see as the future of computing. While AI models like ChatGPT have dominated headlines, many in the industry believe the next frontier lies in physical devices purpose-built to interact seamlessly with these models, potentially reshaping how people access information, communicate, and perform daily tasks.

For Ive, the legal controversy marks a sharp detour from his usual low-key, high-design profile. After departing Apple in 2019, he launched the design firm LoveFrom and has taken on select projects ranging from luxury audio to pandemic-era public service work. His reentry into the consumer tech spotlight through OpenAI was widely seen as a signal that AI hardware could be as disruptive—and as culturally defining—as the smartphone.

Now, that vision is on hold.

The October hearing will determine whether OpenAI can continue developing and promoting the device under its current branding—or whether it will need to completely rethink how it brings its first AI-native gadget to market.

Source: AP News – OpenAI scrubs mention of Jony Ive partnership after judge’s ruling over trademark dispute

The post OpenAI and Jony Ive’s AI Hardware Venture Halted by Court Order appeared first on Journos News - Breaking News, World News, Top Stories, Todays Headlines and Flash Reports.

Apple is reportedly exploring a major shift in how it handles search on its Safari web browser, potentially bringing AI-powered search engines into the mix. This move could pose a significant challenge to Google’s longstanding dominance in the search market.

According to Bloomberg News, Apple executive Eddy Cue testified during the U.S. Justice Department’s antitrust case against Alphabet that Safari search traffic recently dropped for the first time. He attributed this decline to more users turning to AI-powered search engines, signaling a potential turning point for traditional search methods.

Currently, Google holds the default search engine position on Safari—a highly sought-after spot that comes with a hefty price tag. It’s estimated that Google pays Apple around \$20 billion annually for this privilege, which represents about 36% of Google’s search advertising revenue through Safari. However, if Apple shifts its focus to AI-powered alternatives, it could significantly impact Google’s bottom line.

This news comes at a time when Google is already facing increased competition from AI-focused startups like OpenAI and Perplexity. Apple has partnered with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into Siri, and Google is scrambling to secure a deal with Apple to embed its Gemini AI technology into the latest Apple devices.

Apple’s potential move could further shake up Google’s dominance, with some analysts predicting serious consequences. D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria warned that if Apple moves away from Google as its default search engine, it could result in a massive shift in advertising budgets. Advertisers, many of whom currently rely solely on Google’s search advertising platform, might divert their ad dollars to other viable search alternatives.

While Cue confirmed that Apple plans to include AI-driven search engines, such as OpenAI and Perplexity, as options in Safari, he emphasized that they likely won’t be the default search engines—at least not initially. The introduction of AI search engines could provide users with more choices, potentially changing the landscape of online search.

Google, which has long held an almost monopolistic share of the search market (around 90%), faces an uncertain future if alternatives become mainstream. As tech investors are closely watching these developments, the next steps could reshape how we search and how advertisers spend their marketing budgets.

Both Apple and Google saw their stock prices dip following the news—Alphabet shares dropped 6%, while Apple’s decreased by about 2%. Neither company, nor the Justice Department, responded to requests for comment at the time of the report.

As the AI-driven search race heats up, it’s clear that the battle for the future of search is just beginning. Stay tuned to see how this plays out.

Source: CNN – Apple looks to add AI search to Safari in potential blow for Google

The post Apple Eyes AI Search to Challenge Google’s Dominance in Safari appeared first on Journos News - Breaking News, World News, Top Stories, Todays Headlines and Flash Reports.

In an earnings call, T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert also dismissed concerns about radio interference from cellular Starlink satellites.

SpaceX’s cellular Starlink service delivered “hundreds of thousands” of text messages to help hurricane victims, according to T-Mobile’s CEO.

“During the hurricanes, we were able to test with a temporary authorization and saw hundreds of thousands of successfully completed text messages to people that otherwise wouldn’t have seen them,” Mike Sievert said in an earnings call on Wednesday.

Sievert made the comment while discussing Starlink’s direct-to-cell satellite service. Earlier this month, SpaceX received temporary clearance from the FCC to use its orbiting satellites to beam emergency alerts to residents of areas hit by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. In addition, SpaceX received emergency authority to offer satellite-based SMS text messaging to T-Mobile customers in the hurricane-affected zones.

Sievert didn’t go into details. But his comment offers a glimpse at how the cellular Starlink technology could help T-Mobile and other carriers fill a gap in their coverage, especially when a disaster strikes. T-Mobile is partnering with SpaceX on the upcoming service, which is scheduled to launch in late 2024 or early 2025 as a beta.

Source

The post Cellular Starlink enabled ‘hundreds of thousands’ of texts following hurricanes, enhancing crucial communication. appeared first on Journos News - Breaking News, World News, Top Stories, Todays Headlines and Flash Reports.