The Ai Pin was ready to disrupt the smartphone market by being a more pocketable device that could seemingly run queries just by listening to you. Unfortunately, Humane’s lofty ambitions and a skewed impression of the market meant that its first product would pretty much be ‘dead on arrival’ because tons of media outlets and content creators had nothing positive to say about the square-shaped wearable. Unable to garner any customers for its $699 product, Humane’s founders are now reportedly looking to sell off the company and are seeking a price of up to $1 billion.
Humane was previously valued at $850 million, but Ai Pin’s failure means that the founders may not find success in their current search
The company, led by former Apple employees Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, is reportedly seeking a price in the $750 million to $1 billion range, according to Bloomberg. Unfortunately, potential buyers may not entertain this figure because Humane’s first and only product, Ai Pin, failed to deliver any momentum. For its current price, customers could have proceeded to buy any smartphone, which not only sports a significantly larger display but can process responses a lot quicker and deliver a pristine user experience.
Additionally, you are also guaranteed major software updates for many years. On top of the lack of display on the Ai Pin, customers were required to pay a monthly subscription to keep the device functional. The business model would already appear unattractive to those who were remotely interested in picking this up. However, prior to the Ai Pin’s launch, Humane successfully lured in investors, raising $230 million from the likes of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. In 2023, the company was valued at $850 million, but it does not appear that any entity would pay this sum now.
The report states that the list of buyers for Humane appears incredibly small, especially considering the price, and with technology giants like Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and several others pushing their own efforts in generative AI, it is unlikely that the AI Pin founders can deliver anything of value to pitch. In a few months, we will not be surprised to see the compact wearable fizzle out of the technology space and stop receiving any support.
News Source: Bloomberg
