Caitlin Kalinowski Joins OpenAI to Pioneer AI Hardware Revolution
1min read Meta's former head of augmented reality glasses, Caitlin Kalinowski, announced via a LinkedIn post that she is joining OpenAI to lead their robotics and consumer hardware operations. OpenAI confirmed this move to TechCrunch, marking a strategic shift towards hardware development under Kalinowski's leadership.
Kalinowski, a seasoned hardware executive, led Meta's AR glasses team starting in March 2022, where she played a crucial role in the development of Orion, an advanced AR prototype showcased at Meta’s annual Connect conference. Prior to her role at Meta, she was instrumental in designing the hardware for MacBooks during her tenure at Apple. At OpenAI, Kalinowski mentions her focus will be on embedding AI into the physical world, enhancing its potential benefits for humanity.
There's speculation that Kalinowski will collaborate with her former boss, Jony Ive, another ex-Apple executive, in developing a new AI hardware device. This project is a joint endeavor between OpenAI and Ive's design firm, LoveFrom. In September, Ive confirmed his collaboration with OpenAI to create a new computing device, described as minimizing the social disruptions that come with products like the iPhone.
OpenAI has recently ramped up its recruitment efforts, seeking research engineers for a new robotics team. This initiative aims to integrate OpenAI's multimodal artificial intelligence into partner hardware. This move represents a return to hardware efforts after OpenAI disbanded its hardware research four years ago to concentrate on software solutions. Notably, in 2018, OpenAI developed a robotic hand capable of learning to grasp objects autonomously.
Several companies have already started incorporating OpenAI's models into their hardware solutions. For instance, Figure’s humanoid robot 01 utilizes OpenAI’s software for natural language processing, demonstrating the practical applications of OpenAI’s technological advancements in everyday devices.