OpenAI acquired smartphone camera maker Glass Imaging for more than 300 million dollars, according to The Wall Street Journal. Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Los Altos, California, the company had raised approximately 30 million dollars from investors. Glass Imaging founders Ziv Attar and Tom Bishop are former Apple engineers who led the team that developed the company’s Portrait Mode. Rather than editing photos after they are taken, the company seeks to produce better images at the moment the shutter is pressed using neural networks that learn different phone cameras. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company is reportedly developing smartphones, headphones and AI-powered assistant devices. In 2025, OpenAI acquired Jony Ive’s company for 6.5 billion dollars.
Why it matters
The development indicates that OpenAI is pursuing a device strategy that does not limit its AI work to software and existing applications; however, it has not yet been disclosed which product the company will use this technology in or how. Glass Imaging’s approach is based on processing data from different cameras with AI at the moment the image is created, rather than correcting the photo after it is taken. The issue therefore concerns not only smartphone makers but also users watching how significantly AI will change the camera experience. While the founders’ previous work developing camera software at Apple points to technical expertise, OpenAI’s lack of comment leaves open questions about the scope of the deal and its product plans.
Background
OpenAI is not a new name in the FikirPilot archive: we have published 36 news articles mentioning this name in the last 90 days; the latest is dated September 14, 2026.