Ex-iPhone Designer Poaches Apple Talent to Strengthen OpenAI Team

The upcoming generation of iPhones and accessories that are currently available in international countries is the iPhone 17 series. As it gets ready to release its first consumer hardware products by late 2026, OpenAI is actively hiring Apple staff and collaborating with the iPhone manufacturer’s major suppliers, according to a report from The Information.

In 2025 alone, at least 25 former Apple workers—including senior members of the engineering, manufacturing, and design teams—have joined OpenAI. The developer of ChatGPT has also approached Goertek, which manufactures parts for Apple Watches, HomePods, and AirPods, and landed a manufacturing deal with Luxshare, Apple’s largest iPhone and AirPods assembler.

Tang Tan Leads the Hiring Spree of OpenAI

Tang Tan, OpenAI’s chief hardware officer and a 25-year Apple veteran who has worked on several iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch incarnations, is spearheading the hiring push. Tan has previously assisted in turning Jony Ive’s designs into mass-produced Apple products.

According to various media reports, Tan has assured new hires that OpenAI will have “less bureaucracy and more collaboration” than Apple’s hierarchical system. After OpenAI paid $6.5 billion to acquire io Products in May 2025, the talent exodus accelerated. Ive and Tan co-founded the company, which immediately established OpenAI as a hardware design leader. Among the notable hires are Matt Theobald, a 17-year veteran of manufacturing design, and Cyrus Daniel Irani from Apple’s human interface design team.

OpenAI to Roll New Products as it Hires More Skilled Staff

According to reports, OpenAI’s first product looks like a screenless smart speaker, but the business is also investigating wearable pins, digital voice recorders, and eyewear. With an ambitious goal of 100 million units, CEO Sam Altman has detailed plans for a “family of devices” that would be screen-free, contextually aware, and pocket-sized.

Apple has been shaken by the poaching campaign and cancelled its annual China meeting in August due to worries that executives would switch to OpenAI while travelling overseas. Since Apple presently licenses OpenAI’s models for Siri and iOS features while losing important employees to its AI partner, the scenario creates an awkward relationship.

OpenAI’s approach is similar to Apple’s: hire outstanding designers, work with high-end vendors, and develop hardware-software experiences that work together. It is unclear if this strategy will be successful in the emerging AI hardware industry, but it is obvious that the corporation is placing a significant wager on upending Apple’s hegemony in consumer electronics.