Company Files Amended Initial Disclosure Identifying Omni Bridgeway as Litigation Funder Under N.D. Cal. Civil Local Rule 3-15
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., May 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - iyO, Inc., the company behind the screenless, agentic AI-powered in-ear audio computer the IYO ONE, today confirmed that it is partnering with publicly listed global litigation funder Omni Bridgeway (ASX: OBL) in its federal trademark and trade secret litigation against OpenAI, Sam Altman, Jony Ive, and io Products Inc., along with former io co-founder Tang Yew Tan. Omni Bridgeway's financial backing ensures that iyO will be able to pursue this case on equal footing against well-resourced defendants.
iyO filed a federal lawsuit in June 2025 to enforce its federally registered "IYO" trademark. The court issued a temporary restraining order against OpenAI later that month, prompting the company to remove references to its "io" brand. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the order in December 2025. In March 2026, iyO added trade secret misappropriation claims under the California Uniform Trade Secrets Act and the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act. On April 23, 2026, U.S. District Judge Trina L. Thompson granted iyO a preliminary injunction, finding that iyO is likely to succeed on the merits of its trademark claim and confirming that IYO faces irreparable harm from OpenAI's infringement of its established trademark.
"iyO has prevailed at every substantive stage of these proceedings to date, most recently with the preliminary injunction issued in April," said Andrew D. Skale, co-lead counsel for iyO and a partner at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo. "The disclosure of a litigation funder is required by the court's local rules. iyO welcomes it. The company is now well positioned to see this case through to a just resolution."
"We are a startup that has been forced by flagrant infringement to defend our rights against a much larger competitor with substantial financial resources," said Jason Rugolo, founder and CEO of iyO. "To level the playing field in the face of this disparity, we have sought litigation financing from Omni Bridgeway, a global leader in the space."
The case is IYO, Inc. v. IO Products, Inc., et al., Case No. 25-cv-04861-TLT in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
About iyO, Inc.
iyO, Inc. is a Redwood City-based audio-computing company developing screenless, voice-driven hardware and software that lets users interact with computers, smartphones, AI, and the internet through natural language. The company was founded in 2021 as a spinout from Google X (now X: The Moonshot Factory), where the foundational research for its technology began in 2018. iyO's flagship product, the IYO ONE, is an ear-worn audio computer that runs applications controlled entirely by voice. More information is available at iyo.ai.
WEBSITE
www.iyo.ai
IYO INC.
2606 SPRING STREET
REDWOOD CITY, CA 94063
UNITED STATES
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
©2026 IYO INC.
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/iyo-secures-backing-of-leading-litigation-funder-for-intellectual-property-theft-case-against-openai-302785380.html
SOURCE iyO, Inc.
