OpenAI从苹果挖了20多人搞硬件，知情人士：苹果创新缓慢、官僚主义令人厌倦

Core Insights - OpenAI is actively recruiting hardware, design, and supply chain talent from Apple to accelerate its hardware development efforts [1][4][12] - The collaboration between OpenAI and Apple's supply chain network aims to facilitate the production of various hardware products, including a smart speaker without a display, smart glasses, digital voice recorders, and wearable pins, with a target launch by late 2026 or early 2027 [4][12] - OpenAI has established partnerships with major Apple suppliers, including Luxshare Precision, to assemble at least one of its devices [4][17] Talent Acquisition - OpenAI has hired over 20 employees from Apple this year, focusing on consumer hardware expertise, including engineers and designers specializing in user interfaces, wearables, cameras, and audio engineering [4][12] - Notable hires include Cyrus Daniel Irani, Matt Theobald, and Erik de Jong, who have extensive experience in Apple's hardware design and manufacturing [5][12] Employee Sentiment - Many Apple employees are attracted to OpenAI due to the promise of a better work environment with less bureaucracy and more collaboration, alongside lucrative compensation packages potentially exceeding $1 million in stock options [12][15] - Discontent among Apple employees stems from dissatisfaction with incremental product improvements and the company's bureaucratic culture, exacerbated by poor stock performance over the past year [12][17] Strategic Implications - OpenAI's aggressive talent acquisition strategy may complicate its ongoing collaboration with Apple, particularly regarding the integration of OpenAI's models into Apple's Siri voice assistant [17] - Apple's management has expressed concern over employee turnover, leading to the cancellation of an annual meeting for its manufacturing and supply chain teams in China to prevent further departures [17] Competitive Landscape - OpenAI's ambitions in hardware face challenges, as many companies have historically failed to compete with Apple's dominance in this sector [17][18] - The potential for AI to become a core feature in future devices could provide OpenAI with a competitive edge over Apple, which derives over 70% of its revenue from device sales [18]