OpenAI has reportedly acquired Glass Imaging, an artificial intelligence startup developing technology to improve smartphone camera performance, in a deal valuing the company at more than $300 million. The transaction adds computational photography expertise to OpenAI as it expands its efforts beyond software and into consumer hardware.
The acquisition was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter. The deal was reportedly completed quietly in recent months. Neither OpenAI nor Glass Imaging has publicly announced the transaction, and OpenAI has not disclosed how it plans to use the startup's technology.
Glass Imaging was founded in 2019 by former Apple engineers Ziv Attar and Tom Bishop, who previously worked on computational photography technology behind the iPhone's Portrait Mode.
The California-based startup develops GlassAI, an AI-powered image processing technology designed to improve image quality from compact camera systems. Its approach combines computational imaging and neural networks to address limitations including optical aberrations, sensor imperfections and image noise.
Rather than relying solely on larger sensors or additional camera hardware, Glass Imaging uses software trained around the characteristics of individual camera systems. The company has positioned the technology as a way to produce sharper and more detailed images while preserving information captured by the camera.
Its technology has already moved into commercial devices. Glass Imaging's zoom technology has been used in smartphones from Chinese device maker Honor. The startup has also explored applications across drones and wearable devices.
Before the reported acquisition, Glass Imaging had raised around $30 million from investors including Insight Partners and GV, Alphabet's venture capital arm. A funding round last year valued the startup at approximately $100 million, meaning the reported OpenAI transaction values it at more than three times that figure.
The deal comes as OpenAI increases its focus on consumer hardware. The company acquired io, the hardware startup co-founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive, in a transaction valued at approximately $6.5 billion in 2025. OpenAI and Ive have since been working on a new generation of AI-powered consumer devices.
It remains unclear whether Glass Imaging's camera technology will be incorporated into products being developed with Ive or used for other OpenAI hardware initiatives.
For OpenAI, the reported acquisition adds imaging expertise spanning cameras, edge AI and computational photography as the ChatGPT maker builds capabilities beyond its core AI models and software products.
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