OpenAI’s foray into hardware has transfixed techies for more than a year, with speculation about the AI company’s forthcoming mystery gadget ranging from a smart speaker to a wearable device.

It turns out, OpenAI’s first hardware device is a bit more prosaic: a keyboard.

On July 15, OpenAI debuted the Codex Micro, a $230 square keyboard with a 12-key pad, a joystick, and neon lights. Targeted specifically at computer coders who use OpenAI’s Codex tool, the Micro keyboard is a one-off project that OpenAI developed with boutique keyboard firm Work Louder. It’s completely separate from the consumer gadget—the so-called AI companion—that’s expected to be released sometime next year.

That hasn’t crimped demand for the Codex Micro keyboard however.

It sold out the day it went on sale in about 12 hours, and some of the lucky few who snagged one are now re-selling them on eBay. One is listed now for $1,850, though the seller is unlikely to make the sale. Looking at past sales on eBay, the biggest bounty was $1,250, listed on July 16, one day after release.

Prices have steadily declined since, selling for around $800-$1,000 in the next week after release. Today, they’re going for around $450, which is still well above the list price. Most sellers are in the U.S., though others hail from France, the Netherlands, and Ireland.

The device aims to make it easier for developers to track their progress in Codex, OpenAI’s flagship coding assistant that rivals Anthropic’s Claude Code. An LED ring around the keyboard lights up red, orange, green, or blue, to signal if there’s an error or if the AI agent is still working on a task, for example. Turning the dial adjusts the AI’s effort for a given task. The joystick initiates common tasks such as debugging an error or refactoring code.

Still, $450 for a tiny keyboard is not necessarily a bargain. Some of the product’s target audience—programmers—were quick to call it superfluous. “You can get a programmable keyboard, with a knob, for 18 bucks,” said one Redditor. Another commenter posted a link to open-source software to program any keyboard to have similar functions.

Of course, anyone buying one is likely viewing it as a collectible—an artifact from the dawn of the AI age, when OpenAI reigned as one of the new technology’s standard bearers. OpenAI has no plans to restock the device, but Work Louder, company that manufactured the product in partnership with OpenAI, sells a version on its website that features the Codex integration (but which doesn’t bear the OpenAI branding).

Lacking hardware experience, OpenAI taps Work Louder

The idea for the Codex Micro originated on OpenAI’s merchandise team, which intended to sell the product in its online store, Supply Co. The store began as a private place for OpenAI employees to grab some company swag. But in December 2025, OpenAI briefly opened it to the public in honor of its tenth anniversary, Quartz reports.

Social media promptly did what social media does best, and made fun of the items. Some people called the minimalist, streetwear-inspired hoodies and tote bags “tasteslop” and “nerd merch,” according to The Wall Street Journal.

“OpenX started to get a little bit of heat for their merch,” said Mike Di Genova, co-founder of Work Louder. That pushed the OpenAI team to want to “step up their merch game.”

OpenAI reached out to Di Genova later that month, looking to develop a product geared toward developers, who the company sees as an early adopter group.

OpenAI and Work Louder finalized their concept in a few months, and OpenAI placed a large order of the devices. “I thought it was going to take at least a month to sell through the inventory,” Di Genova said, laughing in disbelief. “It was limited stock, but they purchased a lot.” (Neither or OpenAI or Work Louder were willing to disclose the exact number.)

A testing ground for future OpenAI devices

The Micro is not directly connected with OpenAI’s buzzy upcoming hardware device, which it’s currently cooking up with ex-Apple designer Jony Ive. But it’s a testing ground that’s proving out two concepts key to that effort: Hardware (a physical way to interact with OpenAI’s software), and voice. Now that all the Micro devices are out in the wild, OpenAI is monitoring user feedback and discussing it regularly in a Slack channel, which Di Genova is also a part of.

The Micro has a microphone button. Pressing it gives them easy access to speak to the AI, providing verbal instructions. OpenAI last week released a digital microphone button for ChatGPT Work, a desktop app that merges ChatGPT and Codex.

OpenAI co-founder and president Greg Brockman called voice the “interface of the future” for computing since “it means the computer moves closer to you rather than you having to contort yourself around the machine.” He predicted that we will one day look back on “clicking and typing” as a “phase.”

It remains to be seen if Brockman’s prediction is correct, and if it’s feasible to do detailed tasks on the computer, such as in-depth editing and prompting, exclusively through voice. But for now, many in the AI industry see hardware as a way for companies like OpenAI to differentiate themselves.

“There’s this quote from Steve Jobs where he says, ‘If you want to make great hardware, make software,'” Di Genova said. “I think we’ve quite literally reached the point where now we’re on the backswing of that pendulum. If you want to make great software, make hardware, because basically basically there’s no moat anymore.”