Early this month, we reported that OpenAI was working on a mobile gadget in the form of a screenless, wearable device, born from a newfound partnership (friendship?) between renowned former Apple designer Jony Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The announcement came with a video that had the two men talking about the future of technology. Well, that video has now been made private on YouTube, and the original announcement page has been taken down.
The whole thing is on pause because of a simple trademark dispute. OpenAI was forced to pull the materials following a court order. If you visit the original announcement page, it now says:
This page is temporarily down due to a court order following a trademark complaint from iyO about our use of the name “io.” We don’t agree with the complaint and are reviewing our options.
Despite the legal hassle over the name, the actual business deal seems safe. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the acquisition itself is unaffected by the complaint.
The Jony Ive and OpenAI deal is on track and has NOT dissolved or anything of the sort, I’m told. Here’s what happened: they were sued over the name IO and there was a restraining order issued by the judge. They had to pull all materials with the name. https://t.co/JfAxPXrC5R
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) June 22, 2025
So, who is iyO (pronounced eye-oh), the other party in this mess? If the name sounds unfamiliar, its background will not. This iyO company is an independent startup that graduated from X, Alphabet's moonshot factory, and yes, that is the same Alphabet, the parent company of Google.
iyO claims to be on a mission to bring "natural language computing" to the masses. A quick look shows two products listed on its website: the Vad Pro, a high-end wired audio device for professionals, and iyO One, a set of AI-powered earbuds the company is calling the "world's first audio computer." A judge reportedly found its trademark lawsuit against OpenAI credible enough to issue the restraining order, suggesting the ChatGPT creator's video could create genuine consumer confusion between the two similarly named ventures.
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