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HP sees potential in life assistant AI pin Humane's IP – despite flop
Lorikeet News Desk
TL;DR
HP has scooped up the assets of Humane, the startup responsible for one of the most notoriously unsuccessful tech gadgets of recent years.
The IP behind the AI Pin, and Humane's founders, are being integrated into a new innovation lab where HP plans to develop future intelligent technology.
HP has acquired most of the assets belonging to Humane, ending the infamously short and unhappy life of the San Francisco-based hardware startup’s AI Pin device. The $116 million deal includes Humane's AI platform, CosmOS, over 300 patents, and the integration of the company's technical team into HP's new AI innovation lab, HP IQ.
A failed revolution: Founded in 2018 by former Apple employees Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, Humane aimed to revolutionize personal technology with the AI Pin—a wearable device designed to serve as a screen-free AI assistant. Despite raising over $230 million from prominent investors like Sam Altman and Marc Benioff, the Ai Pin flopped when it was released in April 2024.
Multiple issues: Critics highlighted issues such as limited functionality, overheating, and a cumbersome user experience. Tech reviewer Marques Brownlee labeled it "the worst product" he’d ever reviewed, and daily returns from unhappy customers soon outpaced sales.
Shaping the future: HP, however, clearly sees value in the company’s IP, and has brought Chaudhri and Bongiorno onboard to run its new HP IQ lab. "HP’s new AI innovation lab focused on building an intelligent ecosystem across HP’s products and services for the future of work," the tech giant said in a press release.
"This investment will rapidly accelerate our ability to develop a new generation of devices that seamlessly orchestrate AI requests both locally and in the cloud," the company said, adding that Chaudhri and Bongiorno’s experience would "help shape the future of intelligent experiences."
The pin drops: There’s no good news for customers still interested in using the much-maligned AI Pin, however. HP will not continue the product line and Humane has ceased sales of the device and announced that existing Ai Pins will lose core functionalities—including calling, messaging, and AI query responses—within days. Refunds are being offered to customers whose devices were shipped within the past three months.
