Did This Startup Just Kill OpenAI’s Jony Ive Project?

OpenAI has removed all public marketing related to its reported acquisition of famous Apple designer Jony Ive’s startup, io. I was just going to write that, but now, as of June 24 at 11:24 p.m., right before I was about to schedule this, we have updates.

According to the Financial Times, a startup called iyO, run by former Moonshot Factory (Google) executive Jason Rugolo, is suing OpenAI and Jony Ive for copying their name and trying to crush them with io.

iyO says they had meetings with OpenAI and Jony Ive’s team earlier this year about a possible investment or even an acquisition. They showed them their product, AI-powered earbuds called iyO ONE that act like small voice-controlled computers. After those meetings, nothing happened... until OpenAI and Ive suddenly announced their own AI hardware venture with the same name, io.

Rugolo says OpenAI used everything they learned from the meetings, including how the product works and how the software is built, and launched a company doing the same thing with the same name.

OpenAI says iyO’s demo didn’t work well and that they decided not to buy the company because it didn’t meet their standards.

A judge granted iyO a temporary restraining order, so OpenAI and Ive had to take down their blog posts and promo videos about io. The case will go to trial in January 2028, with a hearing in October 2025 to decide whether the name ban will remain in place.

Founder First, Questions Later

Maybe it’s just VC summer, or maybe it’s a ⋆˙⟡vibe shift⋆˙⟡.

Former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati raised $2B for a stealth AI startup with no product, no business plan, and full founder control (sick af), according to the Financial Times. The company is already valued at $10B, making it one of the largest seed rounds in history. This feels like a peak in vibes-based investing, with investors betting more on the founder’s name and big idea than on any product or data.

The shift isn’t just in what gets funded. It’s in who is doing the funding.

From the outside, personal reputation is starting to look like the most valuable currency in venture. Not just for founders, but for junior VCs who don’t yet have a name in the industry or a portfolio delivering returns. Many are leaving firms to launch startups, join corporate VC arms, or raise their own funds.

According to PitchBook this is all unfolding in one of the toughest fundraising environments in years. The venture job market is cooling. Promotions are slower. Compensation is flat. Titles are shrinking. With fewer ways to move up, more investors are stepping off the ladder entirely.

As the saying goes, the fastest way up is out.

NEWS

Big Tech

• Mark Zuckerberg has been personally recruiting AI researchers over WhatsApp and hosting them at his homes as he builds out Meta’s elite AI team, with some people even being offered $100M packages. Some individuals didn’t believe it was even him, and even waited days to respond thinking it was a scam. (Wall Street Journal)

• Google is offering voluntary buyouts to employees in Search and other divisions as part of ongoing cost-cutting moves. (AP News)

• About 130 publicly traded companies now hold a combined $87B in bitcoin, which adds up to around 3.2 percent of all bitcoin that will ever exist. (Financial Times)

Product & Platform Updates

• An (almost) US-made phone is here! The $1,999 Liberty Phone is made by Purism, primarily made of parts from America, but there are some holes in their plan. Parts like screens and batteries just aren't made here yet. It's also very expensive, and the specs aren't as sleek or as good as an iPhone. Even with tariffs pushing companies to move production here, the infrastructure just isn't in place to make high-quality smartphones at scale. (Purism)

  

  • Trump's company is also promoting a $499 phone that claims to be made in the US, also with lower specs and no real timeline for it being built in the US anytime soon. (CNBC)

  • Both of these phones have pretty bad marketing and design. If someone can go in and make these look less like a website for an infomercial product, that would be great.

• Adobe launched Project Indigo, a free iPhone app that takes a burst of photos and merges them into one sharp image. It’s aimed at users who want pro-level results without extra gear. (The Verge)

• Coinbase released a branded American Express credit card for Coinbase One US users and added a lower-cost Basic plan for more casual subscribers. (American Express)

• Snap announced an updated version of its AR glasses, called Specs, expected in 2026. The device builds on its earlier Spectacles 5 developer edition. (Snap)

Regulation

• New York passed the RAISE Act, a new law that requires major AI companies like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic to publish safety reports on their most powerful models. The bill is backed by top researchers and aims to prevent catastrophic misuse without slowing down smaller startups or academic work. Companies that don’t comply could face fines of up to $30M. The bill now heads to Governor Hochul for signature. (NY Senate)

• Forty-two state attorneys general are urging Meta to crack down on Facebook scams that use fake celebrity endorsements to trick users. (CNBC)