Apple-supplier Luxshare shares pop 10% on report of OpenAI hardware deal

Shenzhen-listed Luxshare saw its shares jump about 10% on Monday, following a report that the Chinese device assembler had signed a cope with OpenAI to supply a consumer AI device. 

The corporate, which can also be a supplier for Apple, is already developing a prototype of the device using ChatGPT large language models, The Information reported Friday, citing people accustomed to the matter.

One source said that one in every of the products OpenAI has talked to suppliers about making would resemble a wise speaker with out a display, which could put it in competition with Apple devices using Siri, with the corporate targeting late 2026 or early 2027 for its first device launches.

Luxshare’s 10% jump brought its year-to-date gains to about 50%. Most stocks on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange aren’t allowed to trade up or down greater than 10% in a single day, relative to the day before today’s closing price. The corporate can also be reportedly considering a secondary listing in Hong Kong this 12 months. 

Luxshare and OpenAI didn’t immediately reply to CNBC’s requests for comment. 

OpenAI has long been signaling a desire to push into dedicated AI devices, presenting a possible challenge to Apple and its iPhone. 

As a part of these plans, The Information reported that OpenAI has been poaching staff from Apple to affix its hardware division, now led by ex-Apple executive Tang Tan.

Earlier this 12 months, the AI company, headed by Sam Altman, partnered with former Apple designer Jony Ive after buying his hardware startup, io Products, in a $6.4 billion deal. Ive is answerable for designing lots of Apple’s most iconic products, including the iPhone, iPad and MacBook Air.

An OpenAI partnership with Luxshare would bring Apple’s longtime supplier — answerable for assembling items just like the AirPods and Vision Pro — into the AI comapny’s orbit.

The AI company has also approached China-based Goertek, which also assembles AirPods, HomePods and Apple Watches, to offer components, including speaker modules, for its planned devices, in keeping with the Information report.

OpenAI has been pushing deeper into hardware, hiring the previous head of Meta’s Orion augmented reality glasses initiative in November to guide its robotics and consumer hardware efforts.

In the identical month, OpenAI invested in robot startup Physical Intelligence, which focuses on “bringing general-purpose AI into the physical world,” in keeping with its website.