What Is That Mysterious Metallic Device US Chief Design Officer Joe Gebbia Is Using?
#Joe Gebbia#OpenAI#Jony Ive#AI Hardware#US Chief Design Officer#Metallic Device#San Francisco#Social Media
📌 Key Takeaways
Joe Gebbia spotted using mysterious metallic device resembling OpenAI hardware
OpenAI and Gebbia both declined to comment on the potential sighting
Device resembles hardware from a previously debunked OpenAI advertisement
Speculation suggests this could be prototype for upcoming OpenAI-Ive partnership hardware
Experts suggest the device could be existing tech or an unknown prototype
📖 Full Retelling
Joe Gebbia, cofounder of Airbnb and the US Chief Design Officer appointed by Trump, was spotted at a San Francisco coffee shop on Monday, March 2, 2026, using a mysterious metallic device that resembles hardware from a recently debunked OpenAI advertisement, sparking widespread speculation about potential new technology. The viral video posted on X shows Gebbia sitting with an espresso while wearing metallic earbuds with a matching circular disc on the counter. The post has garnered over 500,000 views, with many social media users suggesting this could be a prototype from OpenAI's upcoming hardware line designed in partnership with Apple's famed designer Jony Ive. Both OpenAI and Gebbia have declined to comment on the potential sighting, leaving room for various theories about the device's origin and purpose. The device bears striking resemblance to hardware featured in a fake OpenAI advertisement that circulated widely on social media in February, which OpenAI President Greg Brockman dismissed as 'fake news.' Audio experts from WIRED suggest the earbuds look similar to existing models like the Huawei FreeClip 2 or Soundcore's AeroClips, though the accompanying clamshell case doesn't match any known commercial products. This mysterious sighting comes amid growing anticipation for OpenAI's hardware partnership with Jony Ive, announced in May 2025, with speculation that consumer devices might launch as early as 2027. The timing of this leak, coinciding with espresso sipping in both Gebbia's video and the Ive-Altman announcement, has fueled speculation that this could be a deliberate soft launch tease, though experts caution that the entire sighting could be a coincidence or even a synthetic hoax.
🏷️ Themes
Technology, AI Hardware, Government Innovation, Social Media Speculation
# OpenAI
**OpenAI** is an American artificial intelligence (AI) research organization headquartered in San Francisco, California. The organization operates under a unique hybrid structure, comprising the non-profit **OpenAI, Inc.** and its controlled for-profit subsidiary, **OpenAI Global, LLC** (a...
Sir Jonathan Paul Ive (born 27 February 1967) is a British-American designer. He is best known for his work at Apple Inc., where he was senior vice president of industrial design and chief design officer. Ive is the founder of LoveFrom, a creative collective that works with Ferrari, Airbnb, OpenAI a...
Joseph Gebbia Jr. (/'gebia/; born August 21, 1981) is an American designer and entrepreneur, and a co-founder of Airbnb. In 2025, he joined the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Reece Rogers Gear Mar 2, 2026 8:06 PM What Is That Mysterious Metallic Device US Chief Design Officer Joe Gebbia Is Using? Gebbia was reportedly spotted at a San Francisco coffee shop using an unidentified pair of earbuds with a circular disc that looks similar to the device seen in a recent OpenAI hoax ad. Photograph: Daniel Leal/Getty Images Save this story Save this story Joe Gebbia, cofounder of Airbnb and the US Chief Design Officer appointed by Trump, was spotted in San Francisco today using a mysterious metallic device. In a social media post on X viewed over 500,000 times, a man who looks like Gebbia sits with an espresso at a coffee shop. He’s wearing metallic buds that bisect his ears, with a matching clamshell-shaped disc in front of him on the counter. After the video was posted Monday morning, social media users were quick to suggest that this could be some kind of prototype from OpenAI’s upcoming line of hardware devices designed in partnership with famed Apple designer Jony Ive. An OpenAI spokesperson declined to comment on the potential Gebbia video after WIRED reached out. Gebbia also did not respond to a request for comment. X content The device Gebbia appears to be wearing looks quite similar to the hardware seen in a fake OpenAI ad that was widely circulated on Reddit and social media in February. That video from last month seemingly showed Pillion actor Alexander Skarsgård interacting with an AI device that had a similar-looking pair of earbuds and a circular disc. At the time, OpenAI denounced the widely seen video as not real. “Fake news,” wrote OpenAI President Greg Brockman at the time, responding to a social media post. The earbuds seen in the video of Gebbia also look quite similar in shape to the Huawei FreeClip 2 , a pair of open earbuds released earlier this year. However, the clamshell seen on the coffee counter next to Gebbia is different from Huawei’s most recent headphone case. It would also be quite surprising if a government offic...
