Humane, Maker of Wearable AI Pin, Is Exploring a Sale, Report Says

The startup's $699 gadget received poor reviews after its launch earlier this year.

Ian Sherr Contributor and Former Editor at Large / News

Ian Sherr (he/him/his) grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, so he's always had a connection to the tech world. As an editor at large at CNET, he wrote about Apple, Microsoft, VR, video games and internet troubles. Aside from writing, he tinkers with tech at home, is a longtime fencer -- the kind with swords -- and began woodworking during the pandemic.

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Ian Sherr

May 22, 2024 12:34 p.m. PT

3 min read

Hand holding the Humane AI Pin — Humane's AI pin. Reviewers were underwhelmed.
Scott Stein/Viva Tung/CNET

Humane, the AI-hardware startup founded by longtime veterans of Apple's design team, is reportedly looking to sell itself for as much as $1 billion. The news comes just a month after the company launched its much-hyped $699 AI Pin.

Sporting cameras and sensors to help identify the world around you, the wearable conjures up thoughts of a Star Trek-like gadget. But on its release it was widely panned as buggy and unable to fulfill its promises. In its report on the sale, Bloomberg said Humane had hired a financial adviser for the process but that an acquisition wasn't certain.

Representatives for Humane didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Humane's reported move to explore a sale just a month after launching its AI Pin marks a potential low point for device makers hoping to capitalize on global excitement around AI technologies.

Usage of AI technologies has exploded in the past two years since the startup OpenAI launched its ChatGPT AI chatbot for public use. More than 100 million people flocked to the technology in just two months, kicking off a surge of startup funding and changing strategy at the world's largest companies, including Apple, Amazon and Microsoft, as well as Google owner Alphabet, Facebook owner Meta and more. (For hands-on CNET reviews of generative AI products including Gemini, Claude, ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot, along with AI news, tips and explainers, see our AI Atlas resource page.)

Unlike most software companies though, Humane pitches its AI through a square-shaped, smooth-edged device designed to be worn on shirts or bag straps, with its cameras and sensors facing out toward the world. Humane says the device is designed to offer a next step after smartphones, with people using AI to interact with apps and services, like hailing an Uber or listening to music. In addition to its $699 sticker price, the AI Pin relies on a $24 per month subscription for cell service, and other costs.

Despite Humane's lofty promises and impressive demonstrations, the device launched to waves of negative reviews, including one from CNET's Scott Stein, who wrote that the device is "a wild concept, but it's too frustrating for everyday use." Humane has said it's working to improve the gadget.

Meanwhile, companies including Samsung, Google and Microsoft have steadily added AI technologies to their devices, including through specialized software and, in the case of computers, a new AI button on keyboards. Apple too is expected to announce major AI-powered changes, to the software that powers its iPhone, iPad and Mac devices. Those could come during the company's Worldwide Developers Conference, in June.

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