OpenAI quietly acquired a smartphone camera startup built by former Apple engineers

OpenAI has reportedly acquired the smartphone camera technology startup, Glass Imaging, for over $300 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. Glass Imaging, founded in 2019, was the brainchild of two former Apple engineers, Ziv Attar and Tom Bishop. The company focuses on enhancing smartphone image quality using neural networks instead of relying solely on larger sensors or lenses.

Their unique approach involves learning the characteristics of individual camera systems and processing images as they are captured, aiming to overcome the physical limitations of compact smartphone camera hardware. This acquisition could bolster OpenAI's hardware strategy as the company ventures beyond software. OpenAI has been rumored to be working on various hardware projects, including smartphones, earbuds, and AI companion devices.

While OpenAI has not publicly disclosed how Glass Imaging's technology or team will be utilized, the deal could potentially add advanced camera technology to their hardware endeavors. OpenAI's hardware ambitions gained more clarity in 2025 when CEO Sam Altman and former Apple design chief Jony Ive began collaborating on new AI devices.

Prior to this acquisition, OpenAI had already invested heavily in hardware by purchasing Ive’s hardware startup, io, for $6.5 billion.