OpenAI’s hardware era has begun, and while we all wait for Altman to hog the stage with a smartphone designed by ex-iPhone designer Jony Ive, the ChatGPT maker has something else on sale – a basketball. This isn’t your ChatGPT hallucinating.
A day after launching a custom keyboard for developers using ChatGPT Codex, OpenAI has now listed a green basketball on its website. Altman is charging $70 (approximately Rs 6,700) for the basketball, and you get a ChatGPT logo stamped on it.
Listed on OpenAI’s Supply Co online store, the basketball is already out of stock, along with the Codex Creator Micro keyboard.
The ChatGPT-branded basketball is a 100 per cent rubber, Size 7 basketball that you can play with. But why is OpenAI releasing sports merchandise in the midst of a hardcore AI race with other frontier AI model makers?
The “Pause. Play. Prompt.” campaign
According to OpenAI’s product listing, the basketball is the flagship item of a new campaign dubbed “Pause. Play. Prompt.” The company says that the rubber ball is “a physical reminder that creativity doesn’t just live on our screens.”
While the said campaign isn’t visible anywhere on OpenAI’s website, it seems to be limited to this basketball, or maybe an indicator for one that is coming in the future. Is this OpenAI’s way of telling its dedicated developer community to get off the screens and engage in a fun game of basketball, all while not forgetting about ChatGPT?
The ChatGPT basketball is pricey at $70 for what is essentially a standard Size 7 (29.5-inch) ball made of 100 per cent weather-resistant rubber. To put that cost into perspective for AI users, the same amount of money could purchase approximately 56 million input tokens for OpenAI’s GPT-5 model. For additional context, a regular basketball mostly costs less than Rs 1,000 in India, while premium offerings cost less than half the price.
The ChatGPT basketball isn’t laden with tech either. It is simply made out entirely of rubber – no microchips, sensors, Bluetooth connectivity, or ‘AI’ tracking capabilities. It seems that consumers are paying a massive premium for the ChatGPT logo.
OpenAI’s expanding hardware collection
The basketball comes on the heels of OpenAI launching the Codex Micro keypad – a custom keyboard created for Codex developers that essentially offers shortcuts to Codex functions. Developed in collaboration with boutique keyboard maker Work Louder, the $230 mini keyboard is designed as a physical “command center” for developers managing autonomous AI agents. Featuring illuminated “agent keys” that change colour based on whether an AI is “thinking” or “debugging,” the mechanical keypad caters directly to power users and sold out almost immediately.
The rest of OpenAI’s Supply Co. collection offers streetwear and lifestyle accessories.
From AI chatbot to culture?
The basketball and the rest of OpenAI’s hardware collection seem to test the limits of how strong the ChatGPT brand is. As the brand tries to enter the hardware segment from solely being a software player, the ChatGPT maker is trying to expand its reach by getting into the consumer technology segment. Rumours initially hinted at Jony Ive designing a screenless gadget with ChatGPT at the core for offering an AI interface, just like the Humane AI Pin. Later rumours scrapped this device for a traditional smartphone that runs on a proprietary OpenAI OS.
It seems that OpenAI is simply trying to create a cultural mainstay similar to Apple as it aces its journey to being a wholesome consumer tech brand.
