Last Friday, AI startup OpenAI filed a new application to trademark products associated with its brand — “OpenAI” — with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Normally, this wouldn’t be newsworthy. Companies file for trademarks all the time. But in the application, OpenAI hints at new product lines both nearer-term and of a more speculative nature.
For example, the filing lists hardware including headphones, goggles, glasses, remotes, laptop and phone cases, smartwatches, smart jewelry, and virtual and augmented reality headsets “for AI-assisted interaction, simulation, and training.”
OpenAI last year confirmed that it was working with former Apple designer Jony Ive on a hardware project, and the startup’s CEO, Sam Altman, on Sunday told Korean outlet The Elect that OpenAI hopes to develop AI-powered consumer hardware “through partnerships with multiple companies.” But in that same interview, Altman cautioned that it’d take “several years” to complete even a prototype AI device.
OpenAI’s trademark application also mentions robots — specifically “user-programmable humanoid robots” and “humanoid robots having communication and learning functions for assisting and entertaining people.”
OpenAI recently began hiring for a new robotics team led by Caitlin Kalinowski, who joined the startup to lead hardware last November from Meta’s AR glasses division. According to job listings and reporting from The Information, OpenAI is looking to test robots — possibly humanoid in form — powered by custom sensors and AI that can operate with human-like intelligence in real-world settings.
Further down in its filing, OpenAI makes references to custom AI chips and services for “leveraging quantum computing resources to optimize AI model performance.”
It’s long been rumored that OpenAI is creating custom chips to run its AI models. The company has a division focused on co-designing chip components, and reports suggest OpenAI aims to bring a custom chip to market with semiconductor manufacturers Broadcom and TSMC as early as 2026.
OpenAI’s plans for quantum computing — assuming it has any set in stone — are murkier. But last year, the startup added to its technical team a former quantum systems architect at quantum computing startup PsiQuantum.
As The Register noted in a piece from March, quantum computing has the potential to drastically improve the efficiency of training AI models thanks to its ability to perform vast numbers of calculations simultaneously. With the computing costs of AI showing no signs of coming down anytime soon, perhaps OpenAI sees a future in training models on hardware far architecturally different than the machines on which it relies today.
Then again, trademark applications are often intentionally written to be broad and not necessarily indicative of a company’s product roadmap. OpenAI’s may well reveal domains the startup is exploring — or at least, has considered exploring. But exactly when — or whether — any of the tech mentioned in the filing makes it to market is anyone’s guess.
TechCrunch has an AI-focused newsletter! Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Wednesday.
