Business
OpenAI Buys Glass Imaging for Over $300 Million
OpenAI acquired Los Altos camera-software startup Glass Imaging in a deal worth more than $300 million, according to a Journal report.
LOS ALTOS, Calif. · Priya Raman, Business · Sep 15 2026
LOS ALTOS, Calif. - OpenAI has acquired Glass Imaging, a Los Altos smartphone-camera software company, in a deal worth more than $300 million, according to a Wall Street Journal report cited by TechCrunch on Monday.
Photo: Glass Imaging
Glass Imaging was founded in 2019 by Ziv Attar and Tom Bishop, former Apple engineers who previously led work on Portrait Mode. The startup has raised about $30 million from investors. Its approach uses neural networks tuned to individual camera systems - the different modules on various phone models - to improve image quality at capture, rather than applying AI only as a post-shutter edit.
Photo: Glass Imaging
Photo: Glass Imaging
OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment, TechCrunch reported. The acquisition lands amid continuing reports that the ChatGPT maker is exploring its own hardware, including phones, earbuds and AI companion devices. In 2025, OpenAI bought the device startup io, co-founded with designer Jony Ive, for $6.5 billion.
Photo: Glass Imaging
Glass Imaging has previously demonstrated GlassAI neural ISP technology with partners including Qualcomm and Honor. Monday’s report frames the deal as a camera-software hire into OpenAI’s broader hardware ambitions; OpenAI has not publicly confirmed the purchase.
Photo: Glass Imaging
