Jony Ive announced a significant collaboration on artificial intelligence hardware, partnering his startup, io, with OpenAI in a deal valued at approximately $6.5 billion. In an interview with Bloomberg, he reflected on last year’s challenges in the AI hardware landscape, specifically mentioning the Rabbit R1 and Humane AI Pin.
“There have been public failures as well, such as the Humane AI Pin and the Rabbit R1 personal assistant device. Those were very poor products,” noted Ive, who is 58 years old. “There has been an absence of new ways of thinking expressed in products.”
In a response shared with Technology News, Jesse Lyu, the founder of Rabbit, expressed his admiration for Ive, stating, “It’s an honor to be mentioned by Jony Ive and Sam Altman regarding Rabbit and Rabbit R1. However, we prefer not to be compared to Humane, a company that ceased its efforts, was acquired, and subsequently shut down.”
Initial critiques of both products seem to echo Ive’s sentiments. Tech journalist David Pierce remarked that the AI Pin “doesn’t work,” while he described the R1 as “a worse and less functional version of your smartphone.”
Humane, like io, was founded by former Apple employees and has since been absorbed by HP, resulting in the discontinuation of its AI Pins back in February.
Meanwhile, the Rabbit R1 persists despite a noticeable decline in its initial buzz and excitement. Recently, the company has added a memory log feature that enhances the AI assistant’s understanding of user interactions. Additionally, it is offering a free trial for Intern, its refreshed AI-native operating system designed to manage multiple tasks, accessible even to users without an R1, as development for rabbitOS 2.0 continues.
Jesse Lyu, founder and CEO of Rabbit:
First of all, Jony Ive is my hero. His work has inspired me since my teenage years, motivating me to pursue a startup focused on creating dedicated hardware and software experiences.
Rabbit is among the pioneering companies exploring the new AI era and redefining human-machine interaction, similar to the impact of the original Macintosh or iPhone.
Being mentioned by Jony Ive and Sam Altman about Rabbit and Rabbit R1 is a huge honor. However, we would prefer not to be associated with Humane, which failed to sustain its efforts and ultimately shut down.
As a smaller team, we recognize that we lack the significant resources, like the $6.4 billion behind Jony and Sam. We admit that the initial rollout of the R1 encountered issues, and we have been diligently working to improve the user experience. We anticipate exciting developments from Rabbit by 2026.
It is a privilege to have Jony and Sam, whom I respect immensely, join Rabbit on this journey to develop their own product. We welcome all competition, whether from large corporations or startups, as I believe it ultimately benefits consumers. I am eager to witness the next innovations from Jony and anticipate that Rabbit will gain valuable insights from his work.
As a startup with limited resources, our situation is akin to David versus Goliath. However, the thrill of competing with an iconic figure like Jony Ive adds to the excitement.
Update, May 21st: Response from Rabbit’s CEO has been included.
