June 23, 2025 – A promotional video that once highlighted the collaboration between OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman and Apple’s former chief design officer Jony Ive, along with news of OpenAI’s $6.5 billion acquisition of io, a device startup co-founded by the two, has been removed from OpenAI’s official website and YouTube channel.
This removal has sparked speculation about potential issues with the acquisition or changes in Ive’s design plans at OpenAI. However, according to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, the acquisition is still moving forward as planned, with no signs of termination or major problems. Gurman revealed that the real reason behind the video’s removal was a court injunction demanding that OpenAI withdraw all promotional materials featuring the name “io.”
OpenAI later confirmed this explanation, updating a statement on an old announcement page: “Due to a trademark complaint from iyO regarding our use of the name ‘io,’ the court has issued an injunction, leading to the temporary removal of the page. We disagree with the complaint and are evaluating our options.” The company also emphasized that this incident does not affect the acquisition deal with io.
It turns out that iyO, the other party in the trademark dispute, is a company that originated from Alphabet X’s “Moonshot Factory,” Google’s parent company. iyO’s first product is a set of headphones powered by generative AI technology. Bloomberg Law previously reported that iyO had filed a trademark lawsuit against OpenAI, and the judge appeared to side with iyO, suggesting that OpenAI’s promotional video might have caused consumer confusion.
Although the video is no longer accessible on OpenAI’s official channels, it remains viewable on at least the X social media platform.
