OpenAI is selling a 70 dollar ChatGPT branded basketball

8:31 AM · July 16, 2026

OpenAI has added a 70 dollar ChatGPT branded basketball to its merchandise lineup, according to TechCrunch, as part of a campaign the company calls Pause, Play, Prompt, which it describes as a physical reminder that creativity does not just live on our screens. The basketball joins other recent OpenAI merchandise, including a 230 dollar Codex branded mechanical keyboard, as the company experiments with physical products that carry its branding well outside its core software business. The article is candid about the basketball's odd market fit, questioning who is realistically expected to buy or wear AI branded merchandise outside a small circle of enthusiasts already immersed in the industry, and comparing the effort to other tech company products that generated more confusion than demand, such as the Humane AI Pin. The story is a minor one next to OpenAI's ongoing IPO preparations and its legal fight with Apple, but it captures a broader pattern of AI labs experimenting with consumer facing brand merchandise as their products become more mainstream, testing whether goodwill built through software translates into demand for physical goods carrying the same name.