Recently, hardware startup Humane announced that it would sell most of its assets to HP for $116 million. The deal marks Humane's stop selling its $499 AI Pin device and plans to completely stop the device after 12 noon on February 28, 2025. Humane reminds users in its official blog that it is important to transfer important photos and data to external devices by this date, because AI Pin will no longer be able to connect to Humane's servers, resulting in the failure of functions such as making calls, sending messages, performing AI queries or cloud access.
In order to adapt to the new business direction, Humane also announced that it will disband AI Pin’s customer support team the same day. In addition, according to the FAQ released by the company, users who purchase AI Pin within the last 90 days can apply for a refund, but users before this cannot enjoy this policy. This series of measures shows that Humane is gradually withdrawing from the AI Pin market and turning its focus to other areas.
Humane launched the AI Pin in April 2024 and hopes it will replace traditional smartphones. However, the device has not gained widespread recognition from consumers, with many early reviews pointing to its disappointing performance, resulting in a serious imbalance in sales and returns. Last summer, Humane's return volume even exceeded sales, and the company had to take urgent measures, including requiring users to stop using the charging case because of the risk of a battery catching fire. Although Humane cuts the price of the AI Pin from $699 to $499 in an attempt to stimulate sales, the results are still not good.
After the acquisition is completed, HP will absorb Humane’s engineers and product managers to form a new team, HP IQ, focusing on AI innovation in future work areas. The formation of this team shows that HP wants to incorporate a smarter ecosystem into its products and services. At the same time, HP will also obtain some of Humane's technologies, including the CosmOS AI operating system. A recent ad from Humane shows how the operating system can run on automotive entertainment systems, smart speakers, TVs and Android phones, technologies that will help HP integrate AI capabilities in personal computers and printers.
It is reported that Humane had sought to be acquired for $750 million to $1 billion in May 2024, but the final transaction price was only $116 million, far below expectations. This result reflects the huge challenges faced by Humane in market competition. As of now, Humane has not responded to media requests for comment, and its future development direction is still full of uncertainty.