OpenAI has acquired the American startup Glass Imaging, which develops AI-powered camera technologies for smartphones. The deal was worth more than $300 million, The Wall Street Journal reports. The acquisition could strengthen OpenAI’s own hardware efforts, about which the company has so far said little publicly.

Glass Imaging was founded in 2019 and is based in Los Altos, California. Before the deal with OpenAI, the startup had raised about $30 million in funding.

Former Apple engineers taught AI to work with cameras

Glass Imaging was founded by Ziv Attar and Tom Bishop, both former Apple engineers. At Apple, they led the team responsible for developing Portrait mode for iPhone cameras.

At Glass Imaging, the specialists decided to apply their accumulated experience somewhat differently. The company develops neural network technologies that make it possible to compensate for one of the main physical limitations of smartphone cameras: the small size of the sensor and optics.

Glass Imaging’s approach differs from the usual use of AI to process a photo after it has already been taken. The neural networks are trained on the characteristics of specific cameras — for example, the different modules installed in a particular smartphone model — and help produce higher-quality images directly at the moment of capture.

In other words, the algorithm becomes part of the camera system itself, rather than just a tool for post-processing the photo.

OpenAI is showing growing interest in its own devices

The acquisition of Glass Imaging comes amid reports that OpenAI is developing its own hardware device. Possible products mentioned have included a smartphone, headphones, and other AI companion devices.

At the same time, OpenAI has not yet publicly disclosed details of such a project and has not commented on the Glass Imaging deal. The company also did not respond to The Wall Street Journal’s request for comment.

OpenAI already has close ties to former Apple chief designer Jony Ive. In 2025, Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that they were working together on the io hardware project. Later, OpenAI acquired Ive’s company for $6.5 billion.

Against this backdrop, the purchase of Glass Imaging looks like another step by OpenAI toward creating its own device — and this time it involves a specific technology directly related to the smartphone camera. It remains unknown whether Glass Imaging’s technology will become part of a future OpenAI device or be used in the company’s other hardware projects.