OpenAI adds a $70 ChatGPT basketball to its merch lineup

OpenAI is putting ChatGPT on a basketball, adding a $70 rubber ball to a new batch of branded products, TechCrunch reported. For investors watching the AI business, the small launch shows how OpenAI is stretching ChatGPT beyond software and into physical goods tied to its brand.

The basketball appears alongside OpenAI’s recently released $230 mini keyboard, which TechCrunch described as the company’s first piece of hardware. The keyboard is marketed as a “command center for agentic work,” a phrase that refers to AI tools that can take steps on a user’s behalf rather than only answer prompts.

OpenAI’s product listing connects the basketball to a campaign called “Pause. Play. Prompt.” The listing says: “This basketball comes from the Pause. Play. Prompt. campaign, a physical reminder that creativity doesn’t just live on our screens.”

TechCrunch said it could not find another mention of that campaign on OpenAI’s website. Based on the listing, the basketball is positioned less like a tech device and more like a piece of lifestyle merchandise around the ChatGPT name.

What OpenAI is selling

The ball costs $70 and is made entirely of rubber, according to TechCrunch. Rubber basketballs are generally associated with outdoor use because the material can handle weather and rougher surfaces better than leather balls used in professional indoor play.

The basketball is not the only non-software item in OpenAI’s store. TechCrunch reported that the company is also selling apparel and other merchandise carrying research-themed language, including items with the phrase “Good research takes time.”

One listed product is a $175 quarter-zip that says “research” in cursive, according to TechCrunch. The product description says “it features a crisp collar that reminisces on our days in academia.”

The lineup puts OpenAI in familiar territory for large tech brands: selling gear that turns company identity into consumer merchandise. The unusual part is the category. A ChatGPT-branded basketball sits far from the company’s core AI products, which are built around models, prompts and developer tools.

Why the merch is drawing attention

The release arrives as OpenAI is also moving into more tangible products. TechCrunch reported earlier this week that OpenAI released the $230 mini keyboard for Codex, its coding-focused tool. Codex is tied to software development, while the basketball has no reported computing function.

That gap is why the basketball stands out. It is a physical item attached to an AI brand, rather than an AI device or productivity accessory. The product listing frames it around taking creativity away from screens, but TechCrunch reported no broader public campaign page explaining the effort.

OpenAI has not been reported in the TechCrunch piece as giving additional details about the target customer, sales expectations or whether more items tied to “Pause. Play. Prompt.” are planned.

For now, the confirmed facts are straightforward: OpenAI is selling a $70 ChatGPT basketball, a $230 mini keyboard and a set of branded merchandise that includes research-themed apparel. The broader message appears to be that ChatGPT is becoming a consumer-facing brand, not just a chatbot people use in a browser or app.

This story draws on original reporting from TechCrunch.