Artificial intelligence startup Humane Inc is reportedly seeking a buyer for its business, just weeks after its first wearable AI device’s disastrous reception upon launch.
Bloomberg reports say the company is looking for a price of between $750 million and $1 billion, but the process is still in its infancy.
Humane is working with a financial advisor to assist with the possible purchase of their company which was only founded in 2018.
The technology company focuses on consumer electronics that use artificial intelligence and the founders both worked at Apple before launching their own business. In November 2023, Humane Inc had raised a whopping $230 million with investors including Open AI CEO Sam Altman, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, Microsoft, LG, Qualcomm, Volvo, and Tiger Global.
The only device from the Humane team was announced during a TED Talk in May of the same year, titled the AI Pin which essentially acts as a phone without a screen. Whether you’re looking to make a phone call, send a text message, or write something down, you simply ask the Pin and it uses a cellular connection to execute your commands.
The small device was even featured by Time in its Best 200 Inventions of 2023 list which was published before the product was released and ahead of the magazine being provided a review unit for testing.
While the product gained traction and interest ahead of launch, the following months haven’t been so pleasant for the team behind the AI Pin.
Humane AI Pin reviews are underwhelming and scathing
The $699 no-screen wearable started to be shipped out to customers in April 2024 and it doesn’t appear to be living up to the hype.
The gadget was supposed to kick off a post-smartphone era where humans can be more present in the active real world with everything carried out by the Pin. But the reality is that the ambition isn’t being delivered.
In one of the first reviews, by The Verge, they address the question of whether you should buy the AI Pin. The response: “Nope. Nuh-uh. No way. The AI Pin is an interesting idea that is so thoroughly unfinished and so totally broken in so many unacceptable ways that I can’t think of anyone to whom I’d recommend spending the $699 for the device and the $24 monthly subscription.”
The Washington Post branded the projector “basically unreadable” when in the sun and Wired described it as a mere “party trick.”
Tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee called it the “worst product I’ve ever reviewed.”
Featured Image: From Ideogram
