AI hardware startup, Humane AI, is looking to sell the company just a month after it started selling its poorly-received Ai Pin wearable. Since the launch of the wearable, the product has received harsh criticism from reviewers
According to a report by Bloomberg, the startup is on the lookout for a potential buyer with the company in talks with a financial advisor to assist in the search. The process is still in its early stages, and the company is asking for a price between $750 million and $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
Humane AI was founded in 2019 by former Apple employees Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno. The company has raised $230 million from investors. In 2023, before the release of its $699 and $24 a month Ai wearable, the company was valued at $850 million.
The overwhelming negative feedback and online reviews of the Ai Pin reveal one thing – the product was rushed and poorly designed. The device has a poor UI, software issues, slow responses, overheating issues, and a poor battery life to mention a few. For a company touting the Ai Pin as “your assistant and second brain, allowing you to be present and in flow,” it currently falls short.
With the asking price of up to $1 billion, the list of potential buyers is limited given that larger companies such as Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon already working on AI.
Sam Altman OpenAI CEO, who also happens to be a significant shareholder in Humane would be an ideal buyer – very unlikely to happen, however. We had previously reported that he was in talks with former Apple Chief Design Officer, Jony Ive, to launch a new AI hardware.
Humane is yet to confirm if it’s putting up the company for sale.
