OpenAI reportedly buys AI camera startup Glass Imaging for more than $300M

OpenAI has reportedly acquired smartphone camera software startup Glass Imaging Inc. for over $300 million, according to The Wall Street Journal. This purchase comes during OpenAI's focus on consumer hardware. In May 2025, OpenAI had paid $6.5 billion in stock for Jony Ive’s io Products Inc. and subsequently hired many Apple employees.

Glass Imaging's software, called GlassAI, processes raw sensor output through a neural image signal processor, handling tasks like demosaicing, color reconstruction, noise reduction, sharpening, and frame fusion in a single pass. This approach reportedly yields higher detail compared to conventional camera pipelines. The software, which targets small cameras where optics are cramped, has been integrated into phones like Honor Device's 600 series with a 200-megapixel main camera.

Founded in 2019 by Shivansh Rao and Ziv Attar, both former Apple employees, Glass Imaging had raised about $29 million before its sale, with Insight Venture Management leading a $20 million Series A round in May 2025.