Morning Brew

Good morning. Telling everyone in your inbox you’d “circle back” after the long weekend did seem like the right move at the time…

If there’s a bright spot, it’s that this week is a short one. And in case you need a reminder, it’s already Tuesday.

—Neal Freyman, Abby Rubenstein

What are Jony Ive and Sam Altman cheffing up?



OpenAI


Last week, Sam Altman stunned the tech world by teaming up with the lead designer of the iPhone to create a new device that could ultimately supplant the iPhone.

His company, OpenAI, shelled out $6.5 billion in equity to acquire io, the one-year-old design firm led by famed former Apple designer Jony Ive. It’s an ultra-expensive bet that interacting with AI is best suited for a new kind of form factor beyond the brick in your pocket.

The return of Ive, who left Apple in 2019, to designing consumer devices has sparked a rumor mill on par with NBA free agency, with experts and amateurs alike floating possible hardware schematics.
So, what could they be building?

At a meeting last week, Altman and Ive told OpenAI staff to expect an AI “companion” that could sit unobtrusively in your pocket or on your desk and be completely aware of what’s going on in your life, the Wall Street Journal reported.What it’s not: Glasses (which have been hyped by Mark Zuckerberg) or a phone (Ive and Altman say they want people to be on screens less often).
Also what it’s not: an iPhone replacement. Altman and Ive are imagining a third device that complements your smartphone and laptop.
The timeline: Altman said he wants to ship the device by late next year.
The sales target: 100 million devices. Altman wants to ship them out “faster than any company has ever shipped 100 million of something new before,” per the WSJ.

Others have speculated on the device, too, floating ideas that range from plausible to downright goofy.The insider tech analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said his “industry research” suggests that the device will have the compactness and elegance of the iPod Shuffle, will feature microphones and cameras but no display, and could be worn around your neck.
Some people on X have become infatuated with a circular, hockey-puck-looking device for your desk.
Or maybe it’ll be a highly intelligent nail clipper or vape.

Big picture: Whatever Ive and Altman cook up, it’ll have to succeed where others failed. The AI hardware game has seen plenty of high-profile flops over the past few years, such as the Altman-backed Humane pin and the Rabbit R1. We’ll see whether Ive still has his fastball.—NF



Tour de headlines



Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images


Trump pauses 50% tariffs on the EU. Two days after threatening a 50% tariff on the EU come June 1, President Trump said he’d delay the implementation to July 9 after a phone call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. On Friday, Trump sent markets tumbling with his unexpected threat to the EU, saying that trade talks were “going nowhere,” and running down grievances with the bloc’s trade practices. But after the call with von der Leyen, Trump explained, “She said we will rapidly get together and see if we can work something out.”

Chinese EV stocks tumble over “rat race” price cuts. BYD, China’s leading EV maker, fell as much as 8.3% yesterday and dragged down other automakers with it as investors sounded the alarm about an extended price war. To spur more demand, BYD last week announced discounts on 22 of its models for the Chinese market and slashed prices by up to 34%, which is expected to force smaller rivals to also cut prices to match. Chinese officials do not like the direction this is heading, with the top economic planning agency calling the price cuts a “rat race” that would hurt the entire sector.

Trump threatens to send $3 billion of Harvard’s grant money to trade schools. In the latest twist in the president’s feud with the Ivy League university over claims that the school has inadequately addressed campus antisemitism, President Trump wrote on Truth Social yesterday that he was “considering” redistributing $3 billion in grant money from Harvard to trade schools across the country. “What a great investment that would be for the USA, and so badly needed!!!” Trump’s post said. Harvard, which declined to comment on the post to news outlets, has sued the Trump administration over billions in grant money that has already been frozen, as well as a move to block it from enrolling foreign students.

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