SAN FRANCISCO: Days before gadget reviewers weighed in on the Humane Ai Pin, a futuristic wearable device powered by artificial intelligence, the founders of the company gathered their employees and encouraged them to brace themselves. The reviews might be disappointing, they warned. Humane’s founders, Bethany Bongiorno and Imran Chaudhri, were right.
In April, reviewers brutally panned the new US$699 (RM3,282) product, which Humane had marketed for a year with ads and at glitzy events such as Paris Fashion Week. The Ai Pin was “totally broken” and had “glaring flaws”, some reviewers said. One declared it “the worst product I’ve ever reviewed”.
About a week after the reviews came out, Humane started talking to HP, a computer and printer company, about selling itself for more than US$1bil (RM4.69bil), three people with knowledge of the conversations said. Other potential buyers have emerged, although talks have been casual and no formal sales process has begun.
ALSO READ: Humane, a startup founded by ex-Apple execs, will use Qualcomm chips Humane retained Tidal Partners, an investment bank, to help navigate the discussions while also managing a new funding round that would value it at US$1.1bil (RM5.16bil), three people with knowledge of the plans said.
Humane’s Ai Pin, displayed at the company’s headquarters in San Francisco on April 1, 2024. — The New York Times The developments amount to a face-plant by Humane, which had positioned itself as a top cont.