Image credit: X (Twitter)
He developed the 82-metre yacht with French designer Philippe Starck, who worked with Jobs for more than four years before his death in October 2011. In 2014, Starck spoke publicly about their collaboration, describing how the two men pursued a minimalist design built around Jobs’ demand for precision, simplicity and silence. One distinctive element was a curved glass structure measuring 23 metres long and six centimetres thick, according to Starck.
Starck said the design process emphasised subtraction over addition. Despite the yacht’s completion, an important question remained unanswered: Starck said he had never seen Venus sail, and it was unclear whether Jobs had ever seen the finished vessel. Apple founder Steve Jobs’ final design project was his superyacht, Venus. His account also challenged the suggestion that he helped design only the yacht’s interior. Starck claimed he conceived both the exterior and interior, and that repeated meetings with Jobs focused on refining every detail. The project remained private during Jobs’ lifetime, and its completion after his death led to financial disputes and questions over who deserved credit for the vessel. Starck claimed he developed the initial design in an hour and a half, then spent more than four years reviewing the plans with Jobs and his associate Thierry Gaugain. The yacht’s design featured an aluminium structure, expansive glass surfaces and teak decks. The yacht’s interior remained largely confidential, in keeping with the project’s minimalist nature. The boat became a lasting record of their collaboration, shaped by the Apple founder’s interest in simplicity and the designer’s interpretation of that vision.