OpenAI Appoints Former Meta Engineer To Lead New Consumer Hardware Team

According to Cointelegraph, Caitlin Kalinowski, who previously led the augmented reality hardware team at Meta, has been appointed to head a new consumer hardware team at OpenAI, an artificial intelligence firm. Kalinowski was instrumental in the development of Meta's 'Orion' augmented reality glasses and has a background in design and engineering at Apple. Over the past decade, she has been actively involved in the virtual reality and metaverse sectors. Kalinowski's recent project, the Orion augmented reality glasses, was part of Meta's broader metaverse ambitions. However, her new role at OpenAI is expected to focus more on consumer robotics. In a post on X.com, Kalinowski expressed her excitement about joining OpenAI to lead its robotics and consumer hardware initiatives. Although her official title has not been disclosed, this division marks one of OpenAI's initial ventures into the hardware domain. Artificial intelligence technology has surged in popularity following OpenAI's launch of ChatGPT in 2023. Despite the rapid growth of AI hardware companies like Nvidia and TSMC, the consumer market for AI-powered devices has yet to experience a breakthrough akin to the 'iPhone moment.' Previous efforts to integrate AI into physical products, such as Humane's AI 'pin' and smart speakers from Google and Amazon, have garnered varying levels of consumer interest. However, advanced AI systems like OpenAI's ChatGPT have not yet achieved widespread market penetration. OpenAI's new consumer hardware division may aim to accelerate this process by licensing specific technologies to major tech companies, rather than developing and manufacturing its own hardware in-house. This strategy could capitalize on OpenAI's AI models and Kalinowski's extensive experience with large-scale hardware manufacturers, including Meta and Apple.