OpenAI is approaching what could be the company's biggest strategic move since the launch of ChatGPT: its very first physical product. According to The Information, this will be a smart speaker equipped with a camera — a device that can observe and interpret its surroundings.
More Than Just Sound
The planned device is far more than a traditional smart speaker. According to The Information, it will be able to register objects on nearby surfaces and capture conversations in the room. Additionally, a Face ID-like facial recognition system is built-in to enable users to complete purchases.
The device has been internally codenamed "Sweetpea" and is described as a screenless AI device. The price is estimated at between $200 and $300.
Jony Ive and the Billion-Dollar Acquisition Behind the Product
In May 2025, OpenAI acquired io, the hardware company founded by legendary Apple designer Jony Ive, for nearly $6.5 billion. Sam Altman and Ive announced ambitions to create a new generation of AI-powered computers together. Since then, the company has gathered over 200 people in a dedicated hardware department.
In February 2027 at the earliest, customers will actually be able to hold an OpenAI device in their hands — this was confirmed by the company's own vice president in a legal declaration.
At the same time, the project has not been without turbulence. A startup called Iyo sued OpenAI over the right to use the name "io" as a trademark. OpenAI's response was to drop the "io" branding entirely, and references to the collaboration were removed from the company's website, according to The Information.
Entering a Demanding Market
The smart speaker market is currently dominated by Amazon Echo and Google Nest — two platforms that have built strong positions through years of low-cost hardware and tight integration with their respective ecosystems. According to market data, Amazon had over 600 million Alexa devices in circulation in 2024, and the five largest players in the market together controlled 58 percent of all shipments that same year.
Both Amazon and Google have recently upgraded their assistants with generative AI. Amazon launched Alexa+ with generative AI in November 2025, while Google rolled out Gemini upgrades on Pixel devices in December 2025. OpenAI is thus entering a market in rapid motion.
Privacy — The Big Question
A device that can continuously interpret surroundings, recognize faces, and capture conversations will inevitably raise privacy questions. Research communities and interest groups have already warned against similar technology: when Meta announced plans for AI facial recognition in smart glasses, the organization Refuge, among others, warned that the technology poses a "direct and serious risk" to vulnerable groups.
How OpenAI will handle these questions — and which jurisdictions will regulate the product — has not yet been clarified. Specific details about privacy features or data storage have also not been made public.
Timeline
All in all, the signs point toward OpenAI wanting to transform ChatGPT from a pure software service into something physically present in users' homes — and their eyes and ears. But the road there is still long, and the company faces strong competition, legal challenges, and unresolved privacy issues.