Klarna CEO and Sutter Hill Celebrate Big Win After OpenAI’s $6.5B Acquisition of Jony Ive’s io

OpenAI acquired Jony Ive’s company io in a $6.5B stock deal. Klarna CEO and Sutter Hill Ventures celebrate major returns as early investors in the AI design firm.

May 23, 2025 - 07:46
Klarna CEO and Sutter Hill Celebrate Big Win After OpenAI’s $6.5B Acquisition of Jony Ive’s io
Klarna CEO and Sutter Hill Celebrate Big Win After OpenAI’s $6.5B Acquisition of Jony Ive’s io

OpenAI Acquires Jony Ive’s io in $6.5 Billion All-Stock Deal

In a major move for the AI and design world, OpenAI has announced the acquisition of io, the company founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive, in a $6.5 billion all-stock transaction. The acquisition has sent ripples through Silicon Valley — and triggered public celebrations from early investors.

Flat Capital Cashes In with Timely Bet on io

Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski revealed on X (formerly Twitter) that his family office, Flat Capital, had invested in io just six months prior. Now, those shares will convert into OpenAI stock at a significant gain.

“Excited that @FlatCapital was an investor in io and that we will now receive even more shares in OpenAI at a hefty return for an investment we did some 6 months ago,” Siemiatkowski tweeted.

Flat Capital later confirmed that it had invested 34 million SEK (approx. $3.6 million USD) into io as part of a mini-portfolio of U.S.-based AI startups.

Sutter Hill Ventures Also Claimed a Piece of the Pie

In another twist, Luke Wroblewski, a managing director at Sutter Hill Ventures, congratulated io on the OpenAI deal via a now-deleted post on X and LinkedIn. The deleted posts suggest Sutter may have been one of the larger investors in io, possibly second only to OpenAI itself.

Despite removing the posts, Bloomberg later confirmed Sutter Hill’s participation in the investment round.

Who Were the Other Major Investors in io?

According to Bloomberg:

  • OpenAI already owned a 23% stake in io, valued around $1.5 billion.

  • That means OpenAI paid roughly $5 billion in stock for the remaining shares.

  • Other backers included:

    • Emerson Collective (Laurene Powell Jobs)

    • Thrive Capital

    • Maverick Ventures

    • SV Angel

    • OpenAI Startup Fund (backed by outside capital)

This acquisition highlights the growing intersection between AI, design, and venture capital, and reflects OpenAI’s increasing ambition beyond just software and models.