OpenAI and Meta edge toward AI hardware, starting with cuddly digital agents

OpenAI and Meta are both moving toward launching dedicated AI hardware, and both appear to be following a similar playbook: softening the ground first with cute, approachable software agents before committing to physical devices.

Dedicated AI gadgets so far, such as Friend and the Humane AI Pin, have mostly drawn public frustration. Despite that track record, OpenAI and Meta are pressing forward. OpenAI is collaborating with former Apple designer Jony Ive and, according to a public filing, does not plan to ship its device before February 2027. Meta is moving faster, aiming to launch a pendant-style device in time for this year's holiday shopping season.

Dots and Muse as the on-ramp

At its recent DevDay event, OpenAI introduced a new AI agent platform called Dots, featuring personalizable colored blob characters with eyes. During a press Q&A after the keynote, CEO Sam Altman was asked whether Dots could eventually appear in a physical device. He called that "a very reasonable thing to assume," though he declined to share further specifics.

Meta has gone further in linking its hardware ambitions to software. The company's pendant, dubbed Muse Charm and compared by CEO Mark Zuckerberg to a keychain, displays its cuddly Muse AI agent on a built-in screen, giving it a distinctly Tamagotchi-like feel. Zuckerberg said the device would be the fastest way to talk to Muse for anyone not wearing smart glasses.

Learning from past failures

Both companies appear to have absorbed lessons from earlier hardware flops, opting to build familiarity with AI agents before asking people to buy a device. OpenAI's head of core products, Thibault Sottiaux, said ChatGPT would soon evolve into a full personal assistant, with interaction channels — email, text, phone calls — gradually blurring together into a single natural experience.

Altman argued Dots would stand apart from earlier agent attempts by handling substantial, long-term work and proactively assisting users as it gets to know them over time. Still, both companies have hit early snags: Muse reportedly ran into trouble navigating Facebook Marketplace, and a Dots voice demo at DevDay did not go smoothly, suggesting there is more work ahead before either agent is ready to anchor a hardware product.