Io Acquisition, Valuation, Funding & Investors

Io was acquired by OpenAI for $6.5B in May 2025.

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Io acquisition price

$6.5B

Acquired by OpenAI · May 2025

Cumulative funding Io raised

$225M

across 1 funding round

Key investors in Io

  • SV Angel
  • Thrive Capital
  • Sutter Hill Ventures
  • Emerson Collective
  • Maverick Ventures

Io Overview

About Io

Io is an artificial intelligence hardware company, incorporated as io Products, Inc., that set out to design a family of consumer devices built around AI. It was founded in 2024 by Jony Ive, the former Apple design chief, together with Scott Cannon, Evans Hankey and Tang Tan, and is based in San Francisco. The team combined industrial designers, hardware and software engineers, scientists and manufacturing specialists, many of them veterans of Apple. Its products were developed in collaboration with OpenAI, and the first device was described as less socially disruptive than the smartphone. The company was a development-stage business and had no commercial products. It was acquired by OpenAI in 2025, and its team merged into OpenAI to lead hardware product development, while Jony Ive and his design collective LoveFrom stayed independent and took on design responsibilities across OpenAI.


Founded

2024

HQ

United StatesSan Francisco, CA

Status

Acquired

Customer focus

B2B

Revenue model

Subscription

Valuation

$6.5B (acquired May 2025)

Io Acquisition

Io was acquired by OpenAI for $6.5B on 21 May 2025.

Before the acquisition Io had raised $225M across 1 funding round.

OpenAI agreed to acquire io Products, Inc., the AI hardware company founded by Jony Ive, in a deal announced on 21 May 2025 that valued the company at $6.5 billion. The announcement was made by Sam Altman and Jony Ive, who said io would merge with OpenAI to work more closely with its research, engineering and product teams in San Francisco. OpenAI already held a 23% stake in io, bought for $1.5 billion in late 2024, so the transaction brought in the remaining shares. OpenAI and io announced completion of the merger on 9 July 2025. Jony Ive and his design collective LoveFrom remain independent but took on design and creative responsibilities across OpenAI. io was founded in 2024 by Jony Ive, Scott Cannon, Evans Hankey and Tang Tan, is based in San Francisco, and had 55 employees at the time of the deal, all of whom joined OpenAI, including the three co-founders. The team set out to build a family of AI-native devices, and OpenAI described the acquisition as its largest to date.

Io acquisition details
AcquirerDateTypePrice
21 May 2025Strategic M&A$6.5B

Sources: openai.com, en.wikipedia.org

Io Funding History

Io has raised a total of $225M across 1 funding round.

Io funding rounds

Io funding rounds
DateStageInvestorsRaisedDeal Summary
Jan 2024Undisclosed stageEmerson Collective; SV Angel; Maverick Ventures; Sutter Hill Ventures; Thrive Capital$225Mio Products, Inc., the AI hardware company founded by Jony Ive, raised $225 million in 2024 from a group of investors that included Sutter Hill Ventures, Emerson Collective, SV Angel, Maverick Ventures and Thrive Capital. Jony Ive himself reportedly owned an 11% stake in the company, and OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman was reported to hold no equity in it. The round followed the founding of the company in 2024 by Jony Ive, Scott Cannon, Evans Hankey and Tang Tan, who set out to develop a range of hardware products built around artificial intelligence. The company is based in San Francisco and was working with OpenAI on an AI hardware device described as less socially disruptive than the iPhone. The stage of the round was not stated. OpenAI later made its own investment in io, taking a 23% stake for $1.5 billion in late 2024, and acquired the remainder of the company in May 2025 in a deal that valued io at $6.5 billion.

Who has invested in Io?

5 investors have backed Io across its funding rounds, including SV Angel, Thrive Capital, Sutter Hill Ventures, Emerson Collective and Maverick Ventures.


Io Investors

Investors in Io by funding rounds participated
InvestorHQRoundsRoleFirst check
Emerson CollectiveUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA1ParticipantJan 2024
SV AngelUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA1ParticipantJan 2024
Maverick VenturesUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA1ParticipantJan 2024

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Io Competitors

Io competitors include listed companies like UiPath and SenseTime Group, and private ones like Instinct, DataRobot, Commure and Clay.

Public and private companies comparable to Io
CompanyHQStatusRevenueEBITDAValuationRevenue Multiple
InstinctUnited StatesSan Francisco, CAPrivate--$10B-
DataRobotUnited StatesBoston, MAPrivate$100M-$6.3B63.0x
UiPathRomaniaRomaniaPublicly listed$1.6B$70M$7B3.4x
CommureUnited StatesSan Francisco, CAPrivate$200M-$7B35.0x
ClayUnited StatesNew York City, NYPrivate$200M-$7.1B35.5x
SenseTime GroupChinaChinaPublicly listed$754M($71M)$5.9B5.2x

Io Public Comps

Io is no longer listed, but its public comps include Duolingo, UiPath, Kunlun, SenseTime Group, Presight AI, Tenable, CorVel, UBtech Robotics, Life360 and Match Group.

Last FYEV/RevenueEV/EBITDA
RevenueEBITDALast FYLTM2027ELast FYLTM2027E
Duolingo$1B$152M4.8x4.2x32.5x15.5x
UiPath$1.6B$70M3.7x3.4x85.5x13.2x
Kunlun$1.2B($232M)5.2x4.2x(27.9x)50.5x
SenseTime Group$754M($71M)6.5x5.2x(68.7x)50.7x
Presight AI$825M$214M6.0x4.9x23.0x19.1x
Tenable$999M$31M5.7x5.3x180.0x20.0x
CorVel$959M$175M4.1x-22.4x-
UBtech Robotics$301M($109M)13.2x8.0x(36.3x)(59.4x)

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Common questions about Io

When was Io founded?Io was founded in 2024.
Where is Io headquartered?Io is headquartered in San Francisco, CA, United States.
Is Io publicly listed?No, Io was acquired by OpenAI in May 2025.
Who acquired Io?Io was acquired by OpenAI in May 2025.
How much was Io acquired for?Io was acquired for $6.5B in May 2025.
How much funding has Io raised?Io has raised $225M across 1 funding round.
What was Io's last funding round?Io's last funding round was a $225M undisclosed-stage round in January 2024.
Who are Io's investors?Io's investors include Emerson Collective, SV Angel, Maverick Ventures, Sutter Hill Ventures and Thrive Capital.
Which companies are comparable to Io?Companies comparable to Io include Instinct, DataRobot, UiPath, Commure, Clay and SenseTime Group.

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