Humane AI pin startup shuts down, sells to HP for $116M after burning through $230M in investor cash

Humane, the startup that once promised to redefine how people interact with AI, is calling it quits. According to an exclusive report from Bloomberg, the startup is shutting down its AI Pin business and selling its assets to HP for $116 million after poor reviews and declining sales.

The company, founded by ex-Apple veterans, had raised around $241 million from high-profile investors, including Microsoft and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. But after burning through $230 million, the company failed to gain traction.

Humane said Tuesday that the deal includes most of its employees, along with its software platform and intellectual property. An HP spokesperson clarified that the acquisition does not cover the AI Pin device business, which will be shut down.

“Humane HP announced a definitive agreement to acquire key AI capabilities from Humane, including their AI-powered platform Cosmos, highly skilled technical talent, and intellectual property with more than 300 patents and patent applications. The acquisition advances HP’s transformation into a more experience-led company,” Humane said in a press release.

According to the report, HP will acquire Humane’s technology, including its Cosmos operating system, intellectual property, and technical team. The plan is to integrate these assets into a new AI innovation lab aimed at strengthening HP’s AI capabilities in personal computing.

“HP Inc. will acquire assets from Humane Inc., the maker of the wearable Ai Pin introduced in late 2023, for $116 million. The deal will include the majority of Humane’s employees in addition to its software platform and intellectual property, the company said Tuesday. It will not include Humane’s Ai Pin device business, which will be wound down,” Bloomberg reported, citing an HP spokesperson.

The AI Pin, a wearable device that relied on voice assistance, struggled from the start. Early reviews were brutal, with many users citing poor functionality and a lackluster user experience. One of the biggest blows came from tech reviewer Marques Brownlee (MKBHD), whose scathing review reached nearly 20 million YouTube subscribers.

Orders plummeted, and returns eventually outpaced sales. Reports surfaced last year that the product simply wasn’t working as advertised. Now, Humane has confirmed that the AI Pin will remain functional until February 28, after which it will lose connectivity to company servers. That means calling, messaging, and AI queries will stop working.

For HP, this acquisition is a bet on AI-driven personal computing. For Humane, it’s a stark ending to what was once one of the most hyped AI hardware startups.

We covered the story of Humane back in June 2024 when the six-year-old was reportedly looking for a potential buyer following the lukewarm reception of its AI Pin wearable.

The Humane AI Pin, once touted as a potential “smartphone killer,” struggled with a barrage of negative reviews since its launch in April. Public feedback has been overwhelmingly critical.

Humane had promoted its AI Pin, a device designed to be worn on the lapel, as a smartphone replacement. It promised functionalities like making calls, sending texts, and performing search queries via voice control. Priced at $699, the AI Pin also requires a $24 monthly data subscription to T-Mobile.

However, when Humane distributed the AI Pin to gadget reviewers in April, the reception was less than stellar. Many reviewers deemed it unreliable and impractical, with descriptions ranging from “more science project than finished product” to “totally broken” and a mere “party trick.”

In April, a source familiar with the company’s operations acknowledged to CNBC that Humane had not met its original expectations but noted that it’s common for hardware startups to face challenges at launch. The source mentioned that the company was approximately six months behind schedule, which wasn’t surprising given the ambitious nature of the project.

Founded in 2018 by former Apple designers and married couple Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, Humane generated a lot of buzz when it launched the $699 AI Pin in November 2023. The wearable AI pin, a magnetic device that clips onto clothing, is designed to serve as a smartphone replacement, enabling users to make calls, send texts, and access information using voice commands. It boasts a laser display that transforms the palm into a miniature screen, capable of displaying the time, date, or nearby information.

Last year, Humane secured $100 million in funding from Microsoft, LG’s venture arm, and Tiger Global before announcing its device, bringing its total funding to over $200 million. Notable backers include OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff.