Humane wearable AI pin killed as HP acquires key AI IP and assets for $116m
4 Mar 2025
After less that a year on the market, Humane, which developed and sold an AI-powered, Cloud-linked wearable pin that functioned as a digital assistant, has pulled the plug on the product, shut off the services for existing pin users, and sold its AI-powered platform Cosmos and intellectual property including more than 300 patents and patent applications to HP for $116m.
The purchase price is roughly half the $230m funding Humane has received since it started courting investors in 2021, according to CrunchBase. Key investors included Sam Altman, the American entrepreneur and investor who went viral after being sacked and then almost immediately reinstated as CEO of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT.
What HP is paying is also considerably less than the $1bn which the company’s founders, husband and wife team Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, who had met at Apple where Chaudry worked on creating the iPhone, were apparently asking HP for during discussions in summer 2024, as reported by the New York Times.
The NYT article also said: “As of early April, Humane had received around 10,000 orders for the Ai Pin, a small fraction of the 100,000 that it hoped to sell this year,” then referenced problems with the gadget’s charging case which led to Humane telling purchasers to stop using it because the battery might catch fire.
The Humane AI Pin was expensive (initially $699, reduced to $499), required a cloud-connection to work, with a subscription costing $24 a month, and received appalling user reviews. Many early buyers returned their units. One common complaint was apparently that the pin didn’t do anything that a smartphone with AI assistant couldn’t do better.
Cloud support for the pin ended on February 28th, 2025, only 10 days after the HP takeover was announced.
AI industry observers say that what HP was really after was the Humane AI team and related IP – which is supported by media claims that some key AI developers have switched to HP with significant salary increases; but staff in non-AI related areas have been let go.
The HP press release announcing the Humane purchase says:
“The acquisition brings a highly skilled group of Humane engineers, architects, and product innovators to HP’s Technology and Innovation Organization. They will form HP IQ, HP’s new AI innovation lab focused on building an intelligent ecosystem across HP’s products and services for the future of work.”
A TechCrunch article observes that the “newly formed innovation lab at HP — HP IQ — will not only be home to Humane’s co-founders, Imran Chaudhri and CEO Bethany Bongiorno, but also the startup’s AI operating system, CosmOS. The new unit will focus on integrating artificial intelligence into HP’s personal computers, printers, and connected conference rooms.”
Tech industry media reports suggest that it was the AI developer talent that HP was really after, as the company was a late starter in the AI rush and developers are now in massively short supply.
After less that a year on the market, Humane, which developed and sold an AI-powered, Cloud-linked wearable pin that functioned as a digital assistant, has pulled the plug on the product, shut off the services for existing pin users, and sold its AI-powered platform Cosmos and intellectual property including more than 300 patents and patent applications to HP for $116m.
The purchase price is roughly half the $230m funding Humane has received since it started courting investors in 2021, according to CrunchBase. Key investors included Sam Altman, the American entrepreneur and investor who went viral after being sacked and then almost immediately reinstated as CEO of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT.
What HP is paying is also considerably less than the $1bn which the company’s founders, husband and wife team Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, who had met at Apple where Chaudry worked on creating the iPhone, were apparently asking HP for during discussions in summer 2024, as reported by the New York Times.
The NYT article also said: “As of early April, Humane had received around 10,000 orders for the Ai Pin, a small fraction of the 100,000 that it hoped to sell this year,” then referenced problems with the gadget’s charging case which led to Humane telling purchasers to stop using it because the battery might catch fire.
The Humane AI Pin was expensive (initially $699, reduced to $499), required a cloud-connection to work, with a subscription costing $24 a month, and received appalling user reviews. Many early buyers returned their units. One common complaint was apparently that the pin didn’t do anything that a smartphone with AI assistant couldn’t do better.
Cloud support for the pin ended on February 28th, 2025, only 10 days after the HP takeover was announced.
AI industry observers say that what HP was really after was the Humane AI team and related IP – which is supported by media claims that some key AI developers have switched to HP with significant salary increases; but staff in non-AI related areas have been let go.
The HP press release announcing the Humane purchase says:
“The acquisition brings a highly skilled group of Humane engineers, architects, and product innovators to HP’s Technology and Innovation Organization. They will form HP IQ, HP’s new AI innovation lab focused on building an intelligent ecosystem across HP’s products and services for the future of work.”
A TechCrunch article observes that the “newly formed innovation lab at HP — HP IQ — will not only be home to Humane’s co-founders, Imran Chaudhri and CEO Bethany Bongiorno, but also the startup’s AI operating system, CosmOS. The new unit will focus on integrating artificial intelligence into HP’s personal computers, printers, and connected conference rooms.”
Tech industry media reports suggest that it was the AI developer talent that HP was really after, as the company was a late starter in the AI rush and developers are now in massively short supply.
After less that a year on the market, Humane, which developed and sold an AI-powered, Cloud-linked wearable pin that functioned as a digital assistant, has pulled the plug on the product, shut off the services for existing pin users, and sold its AI-powered platform Cosmos and intellectual property including more than 300 patents and patent applications to HP for $116m.
The purchase price is roughly half the $230m funding Humane has received since it started courting investors in 2021, according to CrunchBase. Key investors included Sam Altman, the American entrepreneur and investor who went viral after being sacked and then almost immediately reinstated as CEO of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT.
What HP is paying is also considerably less than the $1bn which the company’s founders, husband and wife team Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, who had met at Apple where Chaudry worked on creating the iPhone, were apparently asking HP for during discussions in summer 2024, as reported by the New York Times.
The NYT article also said: “As of early April, Humane had received around 10,000 orders for the Ai Pin, a small fraction of the 100,000 that it hoped to sell this year,” then referenced problems with the gadget’s charging case which led to Humane telling purchasers to stop using it because the battery might catch fire.
The Humane AI Pin was expensive (initially $699, reduced to $499), required a cloud-connection to work, with a subscription costing $24 a month, and received appalling user reviews. Many early buyers returned their units. One common complaint was apparently that the pin didn’t do anything that a smartphone with AI assistant couldn’t do better.
Cloud support for the pin ended on February 28th, 2025, only 10 days after the HP takeover was announced.
AI industry observers say that what HP was really after was the Humane AI team and related IP – which is supported by media claims that some key AI developers have switched to HP with significant salary increases; but staff in non-AI related areas have been let go.
The HP press release announcing the Humane purchase says:
“The acquisition brings a highly skilled group of Humane engineers, architects, and product innovators to HP’s Technology and Innovation Organization. They will form HP IQ, HP’s new AI innovation lab focused on building an intelligent ecosystem across HP’s products and services for the future of work.”
A TechCrunch article observes that the “newly formed innovation lab at HP — HP IQ — will not only be home to Humane’s co-founders, Imran Chaudhri and CEO Bethany Bongiorno, but also the startup’s AI operating system, CosmOS. The new unit will focus on integrating artificial intelligence into HP’s personal computers, printers, and connected conference rooms.”
Tech industry media reports suggest that it was the AI developer talent that HP was really after, as the company was a late starter in the AI rush and developers are now in massively short supply.
After less that a year on the market, Humane, which developed and sold an AI-powered, Cloud-linked wearable pin that functioned as a digital assistant, has pulled the plug on the product, shut off the services for existing pin users, and sold its AI-powered platform Cosmos and intellectual property including more than 300 patents and patent applications to HP for $116m.
The purchase price is roughly half the $230m funding Humane has received since it started courting investors in 2021, according to CrunchBase. Key investors included Sam Altman, the American entrepreneur and investor who went viral after being sacked and then almost immediately reinstated as CEO of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT.
What HP is paying is also considerably less than the $1bn which the company’s founders, husband and wife team Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, who had met at Apple where Chaudry worked on creating the iPhone, were apparently asking HP for during discussions in summer 2024, as reported by the New York Times.
The NYT article also said: “As of early April, Humane had received around 10,000 orders for the Ai Pin, a small fraction of the 100,000 that it hoped to sell this year,” then referenced problems with the gadget’s charging case which led to Humane telling purchasers to stop using it because the battery might catch fire.
The Humane AI Pin was expensive (initially $699, reduced to $499), required a cloud-connection to work, with a subscription costing $24 a month, and received appalling user reviews. Many early buyers returned their units. One common complaint was apparently that the pin didn’t do anything that a smartphone with AI assistant couldn’t do better.
Cloud support for the pin ended on February 28th, 2025, only 10 days after the HP takeover was announced.
AI industry observers say that what HP was really after was the Humane AI team and related IP – which is supported by media claims that some key AI developers have switched to HP with significant salary increases; but staff in non-AI related areas have been let go.
The HP press release announcing the Humane purchase says:
“The acquisition brings a highly skilled group of Humane engineers, architects, and product innovators to HP’s Technology and Innovation Organization. They will form HP IQ, HP’s new AI innovation lab focused on building an intelligent ecosystem across HP’s products and services for the future of work.”
A TechCrunch article observes that the “newly formed innovation lab at HP — HP IQ — will not only be home to Humane’s co-founders, Imran Chaudhri and CEO Bethany Bongiorno, but also the startup’s AI operating system, CosmOS. The new unit will focus on integrating artificial intelligence into HP’s personal computers, printers, and connected conference rooms.”
Tech industry media reports suggest that it was the AI developer talent that HP was really after, as the company was a late starter in the AI rush and developers are now in massively short supply.
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Accreditations
Copyright © Inngot Limited 2019-2025. All rights reserved.
Inngot's online platform identifies all your intangible assets and demonstrates their value to lenders, investors, acquirers, licensees and stakeholders
Accreditations
Copyright © Inngot Limited 2019-2025. All rights reserved.