6 ms·
OpenAI buys smartphone camera maker Glass Imaging for $300M
- tintor 18d agoOpenAI should acquire Flock </s>
- s0ss 18d agoThe bubble expands to meet the needs of the expanding bubble.
- Forgeties79 18d agoit really does seem like they’re just buying stuff up in the hopes that something accidentally turns into a profit to cover their previous investments/promises. Kind of a ponzi of acquisitions
- r_lee 18d agothe Jony Ive one is really interesting. it was kind of this whole "let's change the world" teaser and then we've heard literally nothing since.
- echelon 18d agoI'm spending more money on Anthropic and OpenAI than I've ever spent on Google services outside of hardware. I'm sick of the Android/iOS duopoly. Let them cook. The market is so ripe for disruption.
- Forgeties79 18d agoAnd yet Microsoft, which owns a massive portion of openAI, doesn’t bother you? OpenAI is as bad as the rest. Anthropic likely is too but they seem a hair better. Still bad though.
- HelloUsername 18d agoSource posted earlier: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49701716 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49701716
- tantalor 18d agoThat's an odd choice. I would have thought camera modules are commodity parts (have been for a long time) and there's not much margin there. Probably they are buying the staff, not the technology.
- elil17 18d agoGlass Imaging focuses on AI enhancement of photos (in a way that's informed by/correcting for camera hardware defects)
- HarHarVeryFunny 18d agoThe article tells you right there in the 2nd paragraph what the AI connection is, and why OpenAI are presumably buying them.
- deleted 18d ago[deleted]
- dolmen 18d agoI'm just discovering Glass Imaging (a bit difficult as their website seems overloaded), but it seems they are in software solutions, not a hardware manufacturer or designer.
- tonyedgecombe 18d ago>but it seems they are in software solutions Surely OpenAI can replicate that with their own tools in an afternoon and a few million tokens.
- rvz 18d agoThis means that software is done. Hardware is the next thing which is far more valuable IP and with its staff.
- Kenji 18d ago[dead]
- deleted 18d ago[deleted]
- fidotron 18d agoBoth Apple and Google have dropped the ball enough with the state of recent releases that some iPhone-equivalent-disruption product from the AI industry is becoming conceivable, though I would be surprised if it turns out not to be running Android in some form. Putting a lot of effort into pushing complexity into software to reduce manufacturing complexity is precisely the sort of thing you worry about when you're getting serious about building consumer products.
- iAMkenough 18d agoAI cameras won’t be accepted with open arms like the iPhone was 20 years ago. Might as well buy an Android if it’s an Android. For the mass market, the AI industry has a trust problem.
- fidotron 18d agoThis is like people that think FB is going under because they don't use it. ChatGPT is _enormous_. It doesn't matter if you don't trust it, half the planet does. They don't need to get the HN bubble on board. Edit to add: the absolute state of the replies to this. Hilarious.
- DarmokTanagra 18d ago[dead]
- rtyy 18d agoYou’re boosting too hard bro
- iAMkenough 18d agoCope harder. How’s the Rabbit doing? Only the HN bubble is interested in a new publicly subsidized AI phone option, over the AI phone already in their pocket at least. Edit: what is this, Reddit?
- phoghed 18d ago
- maz1b 18d agoOpenAI really going after ex Apple people who start new companies or startups, eh? First Ive and now the duo behind Portrait mode. Will be interesting to see how the legal battle plays out as well.
- simonedepertis 18d ago[flagged]
- classified 18d agoSo they want to put their spying AI directly into the camera workflow, where you can't see it and can't turn it off. They will have infinite training data and also sell access to the alphabet agencies. The next level of total surveillance.
- devindotcom 18d agowhat an interesting acquisition. I was the one who wrote them up originally for TC: https://techcrunch.com/2022/03/22/glass-rethinks-the-smartphone-camera-through-an-old-school-cinema-lens/ https://techcrunch.com/2022/03/22/glass-rethinks-the-smartph... they had a really cool optical approach that I kind of felt immediately was doomed in the consumer market but would likely find a cool, valuable niche. The unique distortion patterns and front element I felt probably ruled out cinema but beyond that I had no idea. looks like they pivoted at some point but their expertise in lens accommodation does seem like it could be helpful.
- tiahura 18d agoAnyone want to bet that Apple will be the only one making a profit off the OpenAI Infringerator? À la android fat.
- wannabe44 18d agoAt least something they don't claim to automate with AI. Apparently Anthropic acquired stainless for $300M instead of vibing it.
- KevinMS 18d agoThey are just feeling around in the dark looking for the killer app to save their business.
- jejej1 18d agoYup. No vision, let alone strategy.
- rasz 18d ago>smartphone camera maker - doesnt make ANY cameras - its tech (AI slop over taken picture) is used by one lonely Chinese vendor
- kimseungyong 17d agoAI operates on the device. AI model vendors will likely be torn between developing their own hardware to avoid hardware dependency or moving forward together. Quietly, Apple and Google will take advantage of this trend.
- _rwo 17d ago> In 2025, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and famed Apple designer Jony Ive revealed that they had been working together (...) Lol, almost forgot about that cringe $6.5b video announcement - thanks for the reminder!