OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has put a highlight on personal conversations main as much as a rival firm suing OpenAI over its upcoming machine, io. On Tuesday, Altman posted screenshots of emails on X displaying messages between him and Jason Rugolo, the founding father of the Iyo listening to machine startup that’s suing OpenAI. The emails present a principally pleasant alternate the place Rugolo asks Altman for his assist as Altman discloses a competing machine.
“I’d love the chance to pitch you to take a position $10MM in my AI-meets-audio {hardware} firm, iyO,” Rugolo wrote in a March 4th message. “We’re launching the absolute best {hardware} interface to work together with AI-agents, after having obsessively targeted on this downside since 2018.”
Altman declined the supply as a result of he was “engaged on one thing aggressive.” Then, Rugolo adopted up by asking whether or not OpenAI want to work with him, to which Altman replied he’d must ask former Apple designer Jony Ive, who he mentioned was “driving” the launch. OpenAI bought Ive’s AI {hardware} firm for nearly $6.5 billion final month.
The subsequent emails occurred in Could, with Rugolo highlighting a few of the fixes Iyo made for a few of the “fails” that occurred throughout a demo proven to the OpenAI workforce. On Could twenty third, days after OpenAI announced its purchase of io — a reputation just like Rugolo’s startup — Rugolo despatched Altman one other e-mail. “I’m getting blown up on the names scenario,” Rugolo mentioned. “I wished to degree with you right here, I’m feeling just a little weak and uncovered, david and goliath fashion. i simply wished to listen to from you straight, are you critical and optimistic about probably bringing us in?”
In a Could twenty third e-mail, Peter Welinder, OpenAI’s VP of product, informed Altman that he doesn’t “suppose there’s a match,” including that “Their machine [Iyo’s] could be very orthogonal to ours and doesn’t actually work but.”
On June twenty second, OpenAI immediately scrubbed the “io” branding from its web site, later revealing that it was forced to make the change as a consequence of a short lived restraining order granted as a part of Iyo’s trademark lawsuit, which was filed on June 9th. OpenAI’s hardware team testified that the io’s {hardware} isn’t “an in-ear machine, nor a wearable.”
Within the lawsuit, Iyo alleges OpenAI knew concerning the startup and its know-how earlier than launching io, citing conferences with Altman’s funding agency and Ive’s LoveFrom design firm in 2022. Iyo additionally claims it shared details about its upcoming machine when attempting to recruit former Apple designer Evans Hankey, who went on to co-found io.
“Jason rugolo had been hoping we might spend money on or purchase his firm iyo and was fairly persistent in his efforts,” Altman wrote in his publish on X. “We handed and have been clear alongside the way in which. now he’s suing openai over the title. that is foolish, disappointing and unsuitable.”
Altman’s technique of litigating within the court docket of public opinion echoes OpenAI’s strategy to a lawsuit with Elon Musk, which the corporate has fought partly by dropping email exchanges supporting its facet of the story. Musk has made similar moves in court documents.
Rugolo responded to Altman’s publish on X, saying that he didn’t need to “combat” in public. “Actually simply suppose it’s tremendous dangerous kind for somebody such as you to be coming after me like this,” Rugolo posted. “I’m trying ahead to competing with you pretty on product; you simply can’t use our title. In another reply, Rugolo expanded on his relationship with Altman previous to the 2025 emails.
“When an investor you pitched all the pieces to, particularly such a robust one, tells you they’re now doing one thing aggressive… it’s only a horrible feeling,” Rugolo wrote. “the second he mentioned he had determined to do one thing aggressive, i ought to have instantly gotten smart… i obtained performed fairly laborious, gave them all the pieces.”
Although OpenAI presently can’t showcase the “io” branding, the corporate has mentioned that its take care of Ive remains to be occurring. OpenAI has asked the court docket to dismiss the case, calling Iyo’s argument “unfounded” and “untimely.”