Reports say Humane is looking for a buyer due to poor performance of its wearable AI device 'Ai Pin'

In April 2024, the AI-equipped wearable device ' Ai Pin ' was released. Ai Pin was released with much fanfare, and was expected to dominate the smartphone market. However, sales have been lackluster, and it has already been reported that the manufacturer, Humane, is looking to sell the business.

Wearable AI Startup Humane Is Said to Explore Potential Sale - Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-22/wearable-ai-startup-humane-is-said-to-explore-potential-sale

Humane is looking for a buyer after the AI Pin's underwhelming debut - The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/21/24162185/humane-seeking-acquisition-rumor-ai-pin

Ai Pin, created by Humane, a startup founded by former Apple employees, is a wearable device that is worn on the chest with a clip and magnet, as the name suggests. Instead of having a display, it can project images onto the palm of the hand with a laser, and can be operated by voice input via a microphone, touch input via a touchpad, and gesture input using a 3D depth camera.

Humane officially announces 'Ai Pin', a clip-type wearable device equipped with AI that can project a screen onto the palm of your hand - GIGAZINE

On May 22, 2024, foreign media outlet Bloomberg reported that Humane had begun discussions with financial advisers to find a buyer for the business due to Ai Pin's poor sales.

Humane is seeking a sale price of between $750 million and $1 billion, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Negotiations are still in the early stages and may not result in a deal.

Ai Pin, which has attracted attention as a wearable device to replace smartphones, is equipped with its own OS called CosmOS, and has the ability to respond to voice queries through a network connection with an AI model and have AI analyze what is captured by the built-in camera. However, to use it, a monthly subscription fee of $24 (about 3,700 yen) is required as a communication fee.

In addition, the Eclipse color is $699 (about 109,600 yen), and the Lunar and Equinox colors are $799 (about 125,300 yen), which is more expensive than the US selling price of the Apple Watch Series 9, which is $400 (about 62,700 yen). It has been pointed out even before the release.

Furthermore, Bloomberg reported that after its release, it was heavily criticized for its reliability and practicality, and Humane said it would address issues such as battery life, device overheating, accuracy, and response time. In addition, an upgrade to GPT-4o, which is faster and has higher answer accuracy, was announced on May 15, 2024.

Hi everyone. We just shared details on our first update for Ai Pin and CosmOS. We've also outlined the major focus areas for continued improvement.

Priority Areas:
- Improving battery life and thermal management
- Reducing response latency
- Fine-tuning accuracy for a smoother…

— Humane (@Humane) April 23, 2024

Bloomberg reached out to Humane for comment but did not receive a response.

The Verge, an IT news site that covered Bloomberg's report, said, 'Given Humane's desired sale price, the number of potential buyers seems quite limited. Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft and others are all making big inroads in the AI field, but it's unclear how much value Humane will bring to its efforts.'