Humane's AI Pin, Dubbed As Potential 'iPhone Killer' Dies This Month As Company Sells To HP For $116 Million Amid Poor Sales And Scathing Reviews

Humane Inc. has decided to discontinue its AI Pin and sell its assets to HP Inc. HPQ for $116 million. The AI Pin will cease to connect to Humane’s servers after 3 PM ET on Feb. 28.

What Happened: On Tuesday, Humane said in a support document that after Feb. 28, offline functions like checking battery levels will still work, but voice interactions and other cloud-based features will be disabled.

Humane will offer refunds only to customers within the 90-day return window.

See Also: Potential iPhone Killer? Humane AI Pin’s Design, Interface ‘Inherently Flawed,’ Says Gurman: ‘Can Merely Be An Extra Accessory’

HP will acquire Humane's AI operating system CosmOS, over 300 patents, and the company's technical staff. Humane's co-founders Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno will lead a new AI-focused division at HP, noted Bloomberg.

Why It Matters: The journey of the AI Pin, dubbed as potential “iPhone killer” has been tumultuous since its launch. Initially, the device was met with overwhelmingly negative reviews, with returns surpassing sales from May to August 2024.

By June, only about 8,000 units remained with customers, and daily returns outpaced purchases.

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Humane also faced another setback last year when it advised users to stop using the AI Pin’s charging case due to a potential fire hazard. This issue was identified after a report of charging problems, further impacting the product’s reputation.

Despite these challenges, Humane attempted to improve the AI Pin by integrating OpenAI’s GPT-4o model in May 2024. This upgrade promised enhanced speed and accuracy, with a 14% decrease in latency and 33% fewer incorrect answers.

Ultimately, the combination of poor sales, technical issues, and negative reviews led to Humane’s decision to sell its AI Pin assets to HP, marking the end of a challenging chapter for the company.

Price Action: HP's stock dipped 0.088% to $34.17 in after-hours trading, following a 1.66% gain that pushed it to $34.20 at Tuesday's market close, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo via Shutterstock

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.