OpenAI Acquires Israeli-Founded Glass Imaging for More Than $300 Million

OpenAI has acquired Glass Imaging, a company developing artificial intelligence technology to improve image quality in smartphones and compact cameras. According to The Wall Street Journal, the deal values the company at more than $300 million, up from approximately $100 million in a funding round last year.

Glass Imaging was founded in 2019 in Los Altos, California, by Israeli entrepreneur Ziv Attar and Dr. Tom Bishop, both former Apple engineers. At Apple, the two led the team that developed the technology behind the iPhone’s Portrait Mode before leaving to pursue a new approach to digital imaging.

The company’s GlassAI technology uses artificial intelligence and computational imaging to overcome the physical limitations of small cameras. It processes raw image data, corrects optical aberrations and sensor imperfections, reduces noise, and recovers fine details and textures. According to the company, the process improves image quality as a photograph is captured while preserving real image content and avoiding the generation of details that were not present in the original scene.

Glass Imaging aims to narrow the performance gap between compact cameras and professional DSLR and mirrorless cameras. Its technology has been developed for integration across a range of platforms, including smartphones, drones, and wearable devices. Its AI-powered zoom technology has already been incorporated into devices produced by Chinese smartphone manufacturer Honor.

Glass Imaging has raised approximately $30 million to date. In May 2025, it completed a $20 million Series A funding round led by Insight Partners, with participation from GV, Alphabet’s venture capital arm, as well as Future Ventures and Abstract Ventures.

OpenAI has not disclosed how it plans to use the acquired technology. However, the deal comes as the company expands beyond software and AI models into the development of consumer devices. In 2025, OpenAI acquired io Products, the hardware startup founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive, for $6.5 billion. Ive is now working with OpenAI on a new generation of AI-powered products.

The acquisition could provide OpenAI with advanced computational photography and visual-processing capabilities for future products. At this stage, however, it remains unclear whether Glass Imaging’s technology will be incorporated into the device being developed by OpenAI and Ive.