AI hardware

Mistral AI, a European AI leader, secured €1.7 billion in Series C funding, led by ASML, valuing the company at €11.7 billion. ASML’s €1.3 billion investment grants them an 11% stake. This more than doubles Mistral’s previous valuation, highlighting strong investor interest in AI. The funding and partnership provide Mistral with resources to scale operations and enhance infrastructure, crucial given the link between AI software and hardware and ongoing chip shortages. It also emphasizes the growing importance of hardware-software collaboration in the AI industry.

iFlytek’s H1 2025 financial report reveals a 17.01% YoY revenue increase, exceeding 10 billion yuan for the first time. Gross profit rose by 17.12%. Growth was driven by AI-powered office hardware, with overseas sales surging over 300%. The AI Office Notebook demonstrated success in Japan and South Korea. iFlytek also launched the X5, the world’s first local LLM smart office notebook, aimed at enhancing productivity and data privacy.

OpenAI acquired Jony Ive’s startup for $6.5 billion, focusing on AI hardware. Ive is leading projects including a wearable “pendant” voice-command device for ChatGPT, a tabletop home device similar to a smart speaker, and a future robotics project. The wearable aligns with rumors of a screenless AI phone, aiming to revolutionize AI-driven computing experiences under Ive’s design expertise, as praised by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

OpenAI announced plans to acquire AI hardware startup io, founded by Apple’s ex-design chief Jony Ive, in an all-stock deal worth $6.5 billion, marking its largest acquisition to date. The agreement includes $5 billion for io’s equity and leverages OpenAI’s existing 23% stake. io’s 55-member team will join a new OpenAI division to develop AI devices conceptualized during Ive and CEO Sam Altman’s two-year collaboration. Ive will lead creative direction for next-gen ChatGPT interfaces and ambient computing products, aligning with his minimalist tech philosophy. Altman suggested a late-2026 launch, positioning the partnership as a response to Big Tech’s AI hardware efforts. The deal represents Ive’s return to consumer tech post-Apple.