The Humane Ai Pin has not met customer expectations and the company is preparing for its first big failure: the company has gone up for sale and is looking for a buyer.
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AI Startup Humane Seeks Buyer After Pin Disappoints
Humane AI has launched its Ai Pin device, a wearable that has received numerous criticisms just a few weeks after its release. This portable device has not pleased the followers of the artificial intelligence startup and is looking for buyers, Bloomberg has reported.
The company was valued at 850 million dollars last year, just over 782 million euros. Humane has hired a financial advisor and has gone on sale for a price of 750 million, much less than its value in 2023.
The AI company was founded in 2018 by husband and wife Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno. Both were Apple managers and decided to create an innovative project that promised to replace mobile phones.
The portable AI pin has been a reality and went on the market a few days ago for $699 or a monthly subscription of $24. The price is high, but the company assures that it is worth it.
The Humane Ai Pin can perform simple tasks like making a call, taking photos, or answering questions using artificial intelligence. Nothing differentiates this portable pin from other AI devices like the Rabbit R1 with a price of only $200 (about 184 euros) on its website.
The novelty of this device is the possibility of projecting an interactive screen in the palm of the user’s hand. The Ai Pin is placed on the lapel of a jacket or the collar of a t-shirt and projects all the information.
Humane presented the prototype in a TED talk and caused quite a stir a few months ago. Experts assured that it had enormous potential to replace mobile phones, but in the end, it has not happened.
What went wrong in the launch of the Humane Ai Pin?
The launch of the AI pin came in April after a delay of a few months. Sales were a disaster and it didn’t take long for the first reviews from users to arrive. The media and critics were especially harsh on Humane Ai Pin.
Tech heavyweight Marques Brownlee, a YouTube star known for his no-holds-barred reviews, blasted the AI Pin as unfit for public release. Brownlee’s scathing video, titled “Worst Product Ever? (So Far),” highlighted the device’s shortcomings.
Reviews Sink the Pin
Humane’s co-founders made a statement to Business Insider last month. In the text, they assured that the device and its operating system would represent the “beginning of a new story.” The Ai Pin would have updates that would make it “smarter and more powerful. “
The company behind the device participated in a financing round in March 2023 in which it raised $100 million. Some of the most powerful investors were Microsoft, Tiger Global, and Sam Altman himself, co-founder of OpenAI.
Silicon Valley has invested millions of dollars in developing a new generation of AI-powered devices, but they have not convinced users to the point of abandoning mobile phones.
