The former head of Meta’s augmented reality glasses division revealed on Monday that she is joining OpenAI to spearhead robotics and consumer hardware efforts, as announced on LinkedIn. Caitlin Kalinowski, a hardware veteran who took the reins of Meta’s AR glasses team in March 2022, is set to bring her expertise to the startup. Kalinowski played a key role in developing Orion, the groundbreaking augmented reality prototype showcased by Meta at its recent Connect conference. She also steered the hardware team responsible for Meta’s virtual reality headsets for nearly a decade, following previous work at Apple where she worked on MacBook hardware design.
“I’m excited to announce that I’ll be taking on the role of leading robotics and consumer hardware at OpenAI,” shared Kalinowski on her post. “My initial focus will be on advancing OpenAI’s robotics initiatives and forming partnerships to integrate AI into the physical world, unlocking its benefits for humanity.”
It’s possible that Kalinowski will collaborate with her former boss, Jony Ive, an ex-Apple executive, on a new AI hardware project jointly developed by OpenAI and Ive’s startup, LoveFrom. Ive had previously indicated their joint work on a product utilizing AI to create a more socially harmonious computing experience than the iPhone. OpenAI has also recently begun recruiting research engineers for a robotics team dedicated to helping partners incorporate its advanced AI technologies into their hardware. This marks a reinvigoration of OpenAI’s robotics focus, following a shift four years ago to concentrate on software after disbanding its hardware research. In 2018, OpenAI made headlines with a robotic hand capable of learning how to grasp objects autonomously.
Numerous companies have already integrated OpenAI’s models into their hardware, with Apple set to introduce ChatGPT integration for the iPhone later this year. Robotics firm Figure is another example, using OpenAI’s software to enable natural speech interactions for its humanoid 01 robot.
