HP to Acquire Parts of Humane for $116M

At least the equally-panned Rabbit R1, released around the same timeframe and riding the same AI hype, only cost $200 with no subscription.

If someone had written this as satire when they released the pin it would have seemed a little harsh

> The deal will include the majority of Humane’s employees in addition to its software platform and intellectual property, the company said Tuesday. It will not include Humane’s Ai pin device business, which will be wound down, an HP spokesman said.

> Humane’s team, including founders Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, will form a new division at HP to help integrate artificial intelligence into the company’s personal computers, printers and connected conference rooms, said Tuan Tran, who leads HP’s AI initiatives.

Edit: the article doesn't say this, however they raised 230M, so it's possible Humane has 115M in the bank and they acquire this through the acquihire.

They shoved those in a little "important update" FAQ.

"You are eligible to receive a refund if your product shipped on or after November 15th, 2024. All device shipments prior to November 15th, 2024 are not eligible for refunds. All refunds must be submitted by February 27th, 2025."

Oh, and good news... "After February 28, 2025, Ai Pin will still allow for offline features like battery level, etc., but will not include any function that requires cloud connectivity like voice interactions, AI responses, and .Center access." ... you can still look at your battery level, I suppose!

highly unlikely they spent all of it. If they spent 130 million dollars, for example, they'd have $100m in the bank and this $116m txn is net $10m acquihire.

Financially, this probably didn't cost HP much yet. The real cost is whatever they approved for this team to build next, which will likely be a money pit.