Following Jony Ive's departure from Apple in 2019, LoveFrom has evolved into a $200 million annual revenue design collective that just secured a transformative $6.5 billion acquisition deal with OpenAI. The San Francisco and London-based studio, co-founded with designer Marc Newson, represents a fundamental shift from mass-market consumer electronics to selective, craft-focused partnerships with luxury brands and technology pioneers. Operating with just 50 employees, LoveFrom has redefined the modern design consultancy through multi-year collaborations with Ferrari, Airbnb, and King Charles III, while simultaneously developing revolutionary AI hardware that promises to move computing "beyond screens."
The studio's philosophy centers on what Ive calls "creating" rather than merely designing—a deliberate expansion beyond product development into a holistic creative practice spanning industrial design, typography, ceremonial identity, and emerging technologies. This approach, inspired by Steve Jobs' belief that making something with care expresses "gratitude to humanity," has attracted the world's most prestigious brands willing to pay up to $200 million annually for LoveFrom's services.
Jony Ive's exit from Apple on June 27, 2019 marked the end of a 27-year tenure that transformed the company from near-bankruptcy to the world's most valuable corporation. According to multiple reports, Ive had grown "dispirited" as Apple shifted from design-centric innovation under Steve Jobs to operations-focused efficiency under Tim Cook. The breaking point came as Ive found himself managing hundreds of staff rather than the intimate 20-person design team he preferred, while Cook showed less interest in the granular product development process that had defined the Jobs era.
The transition was carefully orchestrated—Apple signed a $100+ million multi-year contract with the newly formed LoveFrom, making the iPhone maker its primary client. However, this arrangement proved constraining, with anti-competitive clauses limiting LoveFrom's ability to take on other clients. By July 2022, both parties agreed to end the relationship, frustrated by talent poaching and creative restrictions.
LoveFrom's founding team reflected Ive's desire for continuity and excellence. Marc Newson, already Ive's close friend and Apple collaborator since 2014, became co-founder. The Australian designer, whose Lockheed Lounge chair sold for $3.7 million in 2015, brought his own legendary status in industrial design. Peter Saville, the graphic designer behind iconic album covers for Joy Division and New Order, crafted LoveFrom's visual identity, including the distinctive comma that "initiates a dialogue" in the company name.
LoveFrom's project portfolio reveals a strategic focus on culturally significant, high-craft collaborations rather than volume-based consumer products. The September 2021 Ferrari partnership, reportedly worth up to $200 million annually, tasks LoveFrom with designing the Italian automaker's first electric vehicle scheduled for 2025. This collaboration extends beyond automotive design—Ive joined Exor's Partners Council, gaining influence over the holding company's broader luxury portfolio.
The Airbnb partnership, announced in October 2020 by CEO Brian Chesky (Ive's personal friend), encompasses a complete redesign of the platform's digital experience and rating systems. This relationship exemplifies LoveFrom's preference for working with design-literate founders who share what Chesky calls "the same belief in the value and importance of creativity."
Perhaps most revealing of LoveFrom's expanded creative ambitions is the Terra Carta Seal designed for King Charles III's Sustainable Markets Initiative. Launched at COP26 in Glasgow, this intricate design features oak leaves, monarch butterflies, and honey bees rendered in LoveFrom's custom serif typeface—itself a four-year development project. The seal's production involved collaboration with British paper mill James Cropper, using solar and hydro power, demonstrating the studio's commitment to sustainable craft.
Recent projects showcase increasing technical innovation. The Moncler collaboration, launched September 2024 after four years of development, features a revolutionary magnetic "Duo button" system combining aluminum, brass, steel, and heat-resistant magnets. This seemingly simple fastener—designed to create an addictive "click" sensation—exemplifies LoveFrom's philosophy that no detail is too small for obsessive refinement.
LoveFrom's most transformative project emerged from secret collaboration with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman beginning in 2023. What started as brainstorming sessions about the "iPhone of AI" evolved into io Products, a startup founded in 2024 by Ive alongside former Apple executives Evans Hankey, Tang Tan, and Scott Cannon. On May 21, 2025, OpenAI announced its acquisition of io for $6.5 billion in an all-equity deal—the AI company's largest acquisition to date.
The partnership aims to create AI-powered devices that move users "beyond screens," addressing what Ive describes as the "unintended consequences" of smartphone addiction. Early reports suggest a screenless, pocketable device featuring cameras and microphones for environmental awareness, designed to integrate with existing smartphones and computers rather than replace them. Altman, who has lived with a working prototype, calls it "the coolest piece of technology the world will have ever seen."
The acquisition brings 55 io employees into OpenAI, with LoveFrom maintaining independence while assuming "deep creative and design responsibilities" across the AI company. Production targets are ambitious—100 million devices with first units expected in 2026. The team includes some of Apple's most accomplished designers: Tang Tan led iPhone and Apple Watch design, while Evans Hankey briefly succeeded Ive as Apple's design chief before departing to join the venture.
Funding for the AI initiative attracted Silicon Valley's elite. Laurene Powell Jobs' Emerson Collective, Thrive Capital, and reportedly $3.6 billion from Klarna founder Sebastian Siemiatkowski backed the venture. Ive personally invested to maintain an 11% stake, demonstrating significant skin in the game.
LoveFrom's commitment to craft extends to its physical presence. Ive has invested approximately $90 million acquiring nearly an entire city block in San Francisco's Jackson Square, paying roughly 4x fair market value to secure contiguous properties. The portfolio includes the historic Little Fox Theatre ($60 million, February 2024) and five additional buildings acquired between 2020-2024.
This urban campus, set to feature a central courtyard and prototyping pavilion, represents more than office space—it's a statement about the permanence and cultural importance of physical craft in an increasingly digital world. A LoveFrom retail store, scheduled to open in 2025, will showcase the studio's work directly to the public.
The studio maintains a deliberately small team of approximately 50 employees described as "designers, architects, musicians, filmmakers, writers, engineers and artists." Notable hires include multiple Apple veterans: Chris Wilson (former UI design head), Wan Si (16-year iOS interface designer), and Jeff Tiller (design team administrator). This talent concentration enables the reported $200 million annual revenue while maintaining intimate creative collaboration.
LoveFrom represents a fundamental philosophical evolution from Ive's Apple era. Where Apple focused on democratizing technology through mass-market products, LoveFrom operates as what Fast Company called a "preservation of craft traditions"—more akin to Chanel's acquisition of artisan workshops than a traditional design consultancy.
The shift is perhaps best captured in Ive's own words. He now deliberately uses "creating" instead of "design," emphasizing a broader creative process. The studio's motto, "love & fury," captures this intensity—love representing devotion to craft, fury the uncompromising pursuit of excellence. Projects like the four-year development of LoveFrom Serif typeface, based on 18th-century printer John Baskerville's work, exemplify this luxury of time unavailable in quarterly-earnings-driven corporations.
Marc Newson articulated their approach: "We can spend as much time as we want—we are the client." This freedom enables pro bono passion projects like the Linn LP12-50 turntable redesign, undertaken simply "for the love of doing something and doing it well" despite making "no economic sense."
The studio's selective client relationships—limited to "founders and leaders" with "practical understanding of creating"—reflect a shift from corporate employment to creative partnership. Where Ive once navigated Apple's operational constraints under Tim Cook, he now chooses collaborators who share fundamental values about craft and patience.
LoveFrom's business model challenges conventional design consultancy economics. With just 50 employees generating up to $200 million annually, the per-employee revenue far exceeds industry norms. Major clients reportedly pay near the full annual rate—Ferrari's partnership alone potentially covering operational costs.
The $90 million real estate investment demonstrates long-term thinking rare in the fluid tech industry. Combined with the $6.5 billion OpenAI acquisition value for the io Products spinoff, LoveFrom has created substantial wealth while maintaining creative control. The studio's scholarship program—$1.5 million endowments each at Royal College of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, and California College of the Arts—ensures the next generation can pursue design without financial constraints.
Revenue diversification spans luxury (Ferrari, Moncler), technology (OpenAI), hospitality (Airbnb), and cultural institutions (British Royal Family), reducing dependence on any single sector. This strategic positioning enabled LoveFrom to walk away from Apple's lucrative but restrictive contract in 2022.