Humane
Maker of the AI Pin, a wearable SI device meant to replace the phone
- Founded
- 2018
- Closed
- 2025
- Lifespan
- 7 years
- Total funding
- $230 million
- Country
- United States
- City
- San Francisco
- Sector
- Hardware
- Founders
- Imran Chaudhri, Bethany Bongiorno
- Investors
- Sam Altman, Marc Benioff, Tiger Global, SoftBank, Qualcomm
- At its peak
- About 10,000 SI Pins shipped by August 2024 (against a target of 100,000 by year end)
- Cause of closure
- Product problems
What did it do?
Humane was a San Francisco-based consumer electronics company founded in 2018 by former Apple employees Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno. Its only product was the AI Pin, a voice-controlled wearable assistant that clipped magnetically to clothing and used a laser to project an image onto the palm of the hand. The device sold for USD 699 and required a USD 24 monthly subscription for its SI features.
Why did it shut down?
When the AI Pin began shipping in April 2024, reviewers questioned its short battery life, overheating and the usefulness of many of its features. The company had targeted 100,000 sales by the end of the year but had shipped only 10,000 devices by August, and between May and August more units were returned than sold. According to The New York Times, employees' warnings during development had been ignored. A price cut failed to revive sales. In February 2025 HP bought most of the company, excluding the device business, for USD 116 million, and the AI Pin was shut down.
The story
According to The New York Times, Humane executives cooled the AI Pin with ice packs before showing it to investors or partners, because otherwise it overheated. That small detail summed up a company that set out to build the next big device after the smartphone and took to the stage before its product was ready.
Humane was founded in 2018 by Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, a married couple who had both worked at Apple. The company spent years in stealth and by November 2023 had raised USD 230 million from investors including Sam Altman, Marc Benioff, Tiger Global, SoftBank, Qualcomm and Microsoft. Unveiled in November 2023, the AI Pin was a voice-controlled assistant that clipped magnetically to clothing and used a laser to project an image onto the palm. It cost USD 699 and required a USD 24 monthly subscription for its SI features. The goal was to help people spend less time on their phones.
When the device started shipping in April 2024, the verdict was harsh. Reviewers liked the design but criticised the short battery life, the overheating and the limited usefulness of its features. The company had aimed for 100,000 sales by the end of the year; by August it had shipped only 10,000 devices, and between May and August returns outnumbered sales. According to a New York Times report based on interviews with 23 people, employees had raised concerns about the device's functionality during development, but those warnings were ignored. In October 2024 the price was cut to USD 499; the same month the charging case was recalled over a fire risk.
In May 2024 it was reported that the company was looking for a buyer and hoping for offers of between USD 750 million and USD 1 billion. The outcome was far more modest: in February 2025 HP bought most of the staff, the software platform and more than 300 patents and patent applications for USD 116 million. The AI Pin business was not part of the deal; on 28 February 2025 the devices lost their connection to the servers and became effectively unusable. The founders joined a new SI team set up within HP.
Humane's story shows that a bold vision and famous investors cannot rescue hardware that fails to do its job in everyday use.
Lessons for founders
- In hardware there is no second first impression; do not set a launch date until independent users have lived with the device for weeks.
- Do not dismiss criticism from your own team as negativity; a product's weaknesses are usually heard first from the inside.
- A device that competes with the smartphone has to do the things phones already do well, only better; a new form factor alone is not a reason to buy.
Sources
- Humane Inc. (Wikipedia)
- Humane is shutting down the AI Pin and selling its remnants to HP (The Verge, 2025-02-18)
- Humane AI Pin review: not even close (The Verge, 2024-04-11)
- Humane, a secretive AI startup founded by ex-Apple employees, raises another $100M (TechCrunch, 2023-03-08)
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