After the failure of the AI Pin project, Humane sold itself to HP Inc for 1.16 billion US dollars.

According to reports, HP Inc. (HPQ.US) will acquire the assets of Humane Inc. for $116 million. HP Inc. announced on Tuesday that the deal will cover most of Humane's employees, its software platform, and intellectual property. However, a spokesperson for HP Inc. stated that the deal does not include Humane's AI Pin device business, which will be phased out. It is understood that the company launched this wearable device at the end of 2023. Tuan Tran, responsible for HP Inc.'s artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives, stated that the team at Humane, including founders Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, will establish a new department at HP Inc. to help integrate AI into the company's products such as PCs, printers, and connected meeting rooms. Chaudhri and Bongiorno were design and software engineers at Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) before founding this startup company. In April 2024, Humane unveiled a highly anticipated wearable device designed to allow users to access AI models, make calls, and send texts through voice or gestures. The startup promoted AI Pin as a product that would eventually replace smartphones. However, the device faced a series of negative reviews, reports of malfunctions, and "quality issues" that posed a potential fire hazard. The startup has raised over $230 million in funding and has received support from investors such as Salesforce, Inc. CEO Marc Benioff. In a customer notification, Humane stated that it has ceased the sale of AI Pin, and existing devices will no longer connect to the company's servers after noon on February 28th, Pacific Time. Humane stated in the announcement, "We strongly recommend that you sync your AI Pin via Wi-Fi before the deadline and download all stored photos, videos, and notes, otherwise the data will be lost." In fact, as early as May 2024, Humane was already looking for buyers for this business, with the company expecting a price range between $750 million and $1 billion. Tran mentioned that he was particularly impressed by certain aspects of Humane's design, such as the ability to coordinate AI models running on both the device and the cloud. HP Inc. stated that the transaction is expected to be completed by the end of this month. A few months ago, Humane shifted its focus away from hardware and rebranded around its so-called Cosmos, an AI operating system for home and mobile devices. The company stated that this software features a new architecture built around AI agents. HP Inc. can leverage this underlying technology to support its future devices. HP Inc. has claimed that deploying certain generative AI features locally (rather than through the cloud) offers numerous advantages in terms of cost, security, and speed. Last year, the company launched a series of semiconductor computers optimized for device-side AI. Tran stated, "Pure AI devices will have their specific times and scenarios, but all of our devices will have AI capabilities - this is how we help our business customers increase productivity."