Humane, once regarded as a prominent AI hardware startup in Silicon Valley, has confirmed a partial acquisition by HP for $116 million. This amount is notably less than the $240 million the startup had previously raised from venture capital funding.
The announcement on Tuesday was a particularly challenging moment for the roughly 200 employees of Humane, as revealed by internal documents and anonymous sources. Following the acquisition news, a significant number of Humane employees received job offers from HP, with salary increases ranging between 30% and 70%, along with HP stock and bonus plans. Notably, many of those extended offers were involved in the company’s core software development, though not all team members in that area were offered positions.
Conversely, employees working closely with Humane’s AI Pin devices, particularly in quality assurance, automation, and operations, were informed of their job termination that same night. The job offers point to HP’s keen interest in acquiring Humane’s AI-focused software engineers, despite these employees not training AI foundation models from scratch as seen in companies like OpenAI and Google.
HP announced the establishment of a new innovation lab, HP IQ, which will incorporate Humane’s co-founders, Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, along with the startup’s AI operating system, CosmOS. This unit aims to embed artificial intelligence into HP’s line of personal computers, printers, and conference room technology.
The move to HP was met with various reactions on social media, with some users joking about the transition from a startup environment to stable positions at HP. However, according to a source, many found the offers, which included higher salaries, quite appealing.
The acquisition was not entirely unforeseen by Humane employees. According to a report by the New York Times, Humane had been seeking to sell itself to HP for over $1 billion, although the final transaction value was much less. Leadership at Humane had previously advised certain employees about forthcoming “big news” expected in January, which eventually materialized in late February.
On the day of the announcement, employees were invited to a sudden company-wide meeting via Google Meet, organized by Chief of Staff Andie Adragna. During the meeting, Bongiorno disclosed the acquisition details just before the official press release was made public. In a subsequent meeting, she clarified which employees would receive job offers at HP IQ and which would not. Several employees were subsequently laid off via email and immediately lost access to company systems.
The exact number of employees affected by these layoffs remains unspecified, with neither HP nor Humane providing comments on the matter.
Before the acquisition, Humane had been struggling. The AI Pin received negative reviews from early testers, which impacted employee morale. This was compounded by safety concerns regarding the product’s charging case, and the departure of the company’s head of product engineering. Subsequently, the AI Pin experienced more returns than sales, leading to a price drop from $699 to $499.
Following the acquisition, Humane informed customers to “recycle” their AI Pins as the devices would largely become non-functional in under two weeks. Despite these challenges, some employees perceive Humane as a moderate success, given its achievements in selling thousands of devices, gaining national recognition, and ultimately being acquired.
The failure of the AI Pin to replace smartphones comes as other AI wearable devices gain traction. Meta’s Ray-Ban AI smart glasses continue their success, with new versions anticipated, while Rabbit’s R1 has recently debuted in Best Buy stores. Another product, Friend, is a wearable device targeting loneliness, with its release still awaited.
Interestingly, Apple’s introduction of a $599 iPhone edition packed with AI capabilities mirrors features of devices aimed at replacing phones. The AI Pin was seemingly ahead of its time, leaving the industry to ponder just how advanced it truly was.
