Hours after Sam Altman and Jony Ive announced that OpenAI was acquiring Ive’s AI startup, io, in a $6.5 billion all-stock transaction, Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski took to X with a surprising revelation.

Siemiatkowski shared that his family investment office, Flat Capital, had invested in io six months earlier. Since the deal was all-stock, those io shares will now be converted into OpenAI shares, securing a hefty return for Flat Capital.

“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.

The post generated significant buzz, prompting Flat Capital to issue a public statement confirming that io was the mystery company it had backed in its mini-portfolio of U.S. AI investments. The firm disclosed that it had spent 34 million SEK (approximately $3.6 million) on io.

💰 Sutter Hill’s Silent Stake

Shortly after Siemiatkowski’s post, Luke Wroblewski, a former Google designer and now managing director at Sutter Hill Ventures, made a surprising announcement.

In a since-deleted tweet and LinkedIn post, Wroblewski wrote:

“Congrats to io on the $6.5B acquisition by OpenAI today. Happy to have been investors in this one.”

According to sources who saw additional now-deleted tweets, Sutter Hill Ventures may have been the second-largest investor in io. While TechCrunch couldn’t confirm the exact stake, Bloomberg later verified that Sutter Hill Ventures was indeed an investor.

🤖 OpenAI’s Biggest Acquisition Yet

The biggest investor in io was OpenAI itself, holding a 23% stake valued at $1.5 billion. This means OpenAI paid about $5 billion in stock for the remaining shares. Other investors in io included Laurene Powell Jobs’ Emerson Collective, Thrive Capital, Maverick Ventures, SV Angel, and the OpenAI Fund.

While OpenAI’s fund isn’t backed by its own money, it is supported by outside investors, further solidifying the company’s expanding AI ecosystem.

🔮 What’s Next for AI Hardware?

Ive and his design firm LoveFrom have been collaborating with OpenAI for years, but this acquisition will bring them closer to OpenAI’s research and product teams. Ive won’t officially join OpenAI, but his influence will shape the company’s future AI-powered devices, expected to launch in 2026.

As AI continues to evolve, this deal signals a new era of AI-driven consumer technology, blending cutting-edge software with iconic product design.

#AIRevolution 🌍 #TeslaInnovation ⚡ #FutureReady 🔮 #SmartLiving 🏡 #TechForGood 🌱