OpenAI plans to develop humanoid robots, smart wearables, including watches and jewelry, and an AI-powered VR headset, according to a trademark application filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by the ChatGPT developer.
OpenAI plans to develop humanoid robots, smart wearables, including watches and jewelry, and an AI-powered VR headset, according to a trademark application filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by the ChatGPT developer.
The move could put OpenAI in competition with Meta, Apple, and other hardware-based AI players.
While companies often register various trademarks for ideas that never come to fruition, OpenAI's application came at a time when its CEO Sam Altman was talking about the company's hardware plans.
On Monday, he said in an interview with Nikkei Asia that OpenAI wants to develop consumer AI technologies “through partnerships with many companies.” However, he warned that even creating a prototype could take “several years,” Business Insider reports .
OpenAI's trademark application, filed on January 31, lists "humanoid robots that are programmable by a user" and "humanoid robots with communication and learning functions."
This comes as OpenAI is rebuilding its robotics team, which it previously shut down in 2020. In November, OpenAI hired Caitlin Kalinowski, former head of hardware at Meta, to lead the company’s robotics and consumer hardware efforts. Kalinowski, who led the development of Orion, Meta’s prototype AR glasses, had previously said she would focus on “bringing AI into the physical world” through partnerships with robotics and hardware.
Altman did not provide specifics on how OpenAI plans to integrate its AI models with its own hardware, but the company's statement suggests it is laying the legal groundwork for future developments.
