Humane Ai Pin is essentially paperweight after HP's acquisition

Humane announced in a press release that it will be acquired by HP for $116 million. Given the company raised at least $230 million in venture capital, the acquisition represents a significant financial loss for Humane’s inventors. Furthermore, the company’s customers are likewise affected by this takeover since the Humane Ai Pin will lose practically all its functions on 28 February.

From that day onwards, the Humane Ai Pin won't be able to connect to the company’s servers. The Humane.Center website, which is used for managing the Pin, will also be taken offline. Consequently, the expensive gadget will no longer be able to make calls, send messages, answer questions, or access cloud data, effectively turning into a neat-looking piece of e-waste, though it at least still can display its battery level. Customers who purchased the Ai Pin less than 90 days ago can request a refund.

Humane has been looking for a buyer for months after the Ai Pin ended up being a commercial disaster. Although the company initially wanted over one billion US dollars for the takeover, HP managed to undercut this valuation by almost 90 per cent. Besides the rights to the Ai Pin, HP will receive more than 300 patents and patent applications, as well as CosmOS, Humane’s AI operating system designed to make cars and smart home devices more intelligent in future. The two founders of Humane, Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, will head a new AI division at HP.