OpenAI vs iyO: Sam Altman Calls Trademark Lawsuit ‘Silly and Wrong’ After ‘io’ Branding Dispute Co-Founded by Ex-Apple Designer Jony Ive

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shared a post on June 25, 2025, on X (formerly Twitter) and addressed the recent trademark issue involving their hardware project “io.” OpenAI had earlier removed all references to "io," the hardware venture co-founded by ex-Apple designer Jony Ive, from its website and social media pages. It followed a trademark lawsuit filed by iyO, a hearing device startup. Although OpenAI had announced a USD 6.5 billion acquisition deal, the original blog post and video featuring Altman and Ive are now unavailable. On June 23, OpenAI posted, “This page is temporarily down due to a court order following a trademark complaint from iyO about our use of the name “io.” We don’t agree with the complaint and are reviewing our options." However, “the deal is still happening,” as per a report of The Verge. Altman claimed that iyO’s CEO, Jason Rugolo, had previously offered OpenAI to invest in or acquire iyO. “Now he is suing OpenAI over the name. This is silly, disappointing and wrong,” Altman wrote. He noted, “It is not cool to turn to a lawsuit when you don’t get what you want. Sets a terrible precedent for trying to help the ecosystem.” Grok 3.5 Release Soon: Elon Musk’s xAI To Reportedly Launch Grok 4 Instead of Grok 3.5 With Advanced Reasoning Capability, Ability To Add Missing Information.

OpenAI Temporarily Takes Down ‘Io’ Page After Court Order Following iyO’s Trademark Lawsuit

Sam Altman Says ‘Jason Rugolo Is Suing OpenAI Over the Name’

Sam Altman Says ‘It Is Not Cool To Turn to a Lawsuit When You Dont Get What You Want’

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