OpenAI said it was buying IO, a start-up founded by Mr. Ive, the designer of the iPhone, to usher in a new era of artificial intelligence hardware.

The dueling announcements say a lot about what are arguably the world’s two foremost AI companies: Google’s models may be technically superior and more widely deployed, but OpenAI is kicking everyone...

Designer Jony Ive, best known for his work on everything from the iMac to the iPhone, wanted to quit Apple before Steve Jobs returned as CEO. Instead, he stuck around at the tech company for nearly three decades and revolutionized consumer electronics.