Apple's Data Center Chief Joins OpenAI As Sam Altman, Jony Ive Team Up In $6.4 Billion 'io' Deal

OpenAI Inc. has recruited Apple Inc.‘s AAPL director of data center engineering as the artificial intelligence company bolsters its physical infrastructure capabilities amid a $6.4 billion acquisition of designer Jony Ive’s hardware startup.

What Happened: Spas Lazarov, who spent nearly 11 years at Apple overseeing data center operations across North America, Europe, and Asia, joined OpenAI as a technical staff member, according to a Wednesday announcement by OpenAI President Greg Brockman on X. Brockman confirmed the company is “building out our physical infrastructure team” with multiple new hires.

Prior to Apple, Lazarov worked for 26 years at General Electric Co., including as director of critical power systems engineering. He serves on the global advisory council at Infrastructure Masons, an industry group focused on data center development.

Why It Matters: The hire coincides with OpenAI’s completed acquisition of io Products Inc., Ive’s design startup, for approximately $6.4 billion in an all-stock transaction announced in May.

The deal integrates Ive’s 15-person LoveFrom industrial design team into OpenAI’s San Francisco operations, where engineers plan to develop custom silicon for natural voice dialogue systems.

The hardware initiative represents OpenAI’s push beyond software as annual recurring revenue climbed to $10 billion from $5.5 billion in 2024, according to company statements. The Pentagon awarded OpenAI a $200 million contract this month to prototype AI tools.

TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo expects the screen-free device to resemble a neck-worn iPod Shuffle with microphones and cameras. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman described the prototype as “unobtrusive” and “fully aware” of surroundings, designed to function without traditional screens.