Former Apple executives launched Humane, a business that found itself in an unstable position shortly after the debut of its $699 AI Pin.
When Humane’s AI Pin was introduced in April 2023, it was thought to be a revolutionary product in the ambient and contextual computing space. However, The Verge was able to access internal sales data, though, which tells a different story. The quantity of returned AI Pins exceeded the quantity of units bought between May and August. There were only approximately 8,000 units left with consumers by June; since then, the number has dropped to closer to 7,000, according to those with direct access to the data.
Mainly bad reviews accompanied the debut of the AI Pin. The gadget “just doesn’t work,” according to David Pierce of The Verge, while tech reviewer Marques Brownlee referred to it as “the worst product” he has ever evaluated. Humane is striving to preserve confidence among its employees and prospective customers while stabilizing its operations despite this criticism.
In June, The Information said that Humane is in talks with investors to obtain convertible financing, while The New York Times reported that HP is thinking about buying the company in question.
Internal data shows that sales of Humane’s AI Pin and accessories have exceeded $9 million. However over a million orders were canceled before the shipment, and over $1 million worth of merchandise was returned. These numbers demonstrate how challenging Humane’s situation is. While Humane has sent roughly 10,000 pins and accessories, their goal was to deliver 100,000 within the first year.
Humane spokeswoman Zoz Cuccias disputed The Verge’s reporting accuracy, especially with the financial statistics. Cuccias said, “We have nothing else to provide as we do not comment on financial data, and we will refer it to our legal counsel.”
One significant problem with the AI Pin is that Humane is unable to repair or resell it when it is returned because of a T-Mobile restriction, which prevents the device from being assigned to a new user. Although Humane intends to fix this problem, they have not yet come up with a solution. This design flaw has turned returned AI Pins into e-waste.
Upon the AI Pin’s launch, Cuccias said, “We knew we were at the starting line, not the finish line,” adding that the company has since issued several software updates in response to customer feedback.
Humane has also experienced notable turnover in its executive team. In January, Humane laid off 4 percent of its workforce as part of a cost-cutting measure before the AI Pin’s launch.
Cuccias underlined that Humane is dedicated to promoting ambient and contextual computing and is still building a “talented and deeply experienced team” despite the challenges it faces. The June appointment of Rubén Caballero as the organization’s new chief engineering and strategy officer is evidence of this dedication.
In April 2023, Imran Chaudhri, the president and co-founder of Humane, unveiled the AI Pin in a TED Talk. Chaudhri and his spouse, Humane’s co-founder and CEO Bethany Bongiorno, both had positions at Apple in the past, where they claimed to have contributed to the creation of notable devices. When the bad reviews began to come in, Bongiorno wrote on X, “This is the starting point. No gen 1 is perfect nor is it ever the complete vision.”
Early testers who found the product “disorienting” and “frustrating,” including the parents, friends, investors, and staff of the co-founders, expressed concerns, but Humane went ahead and launched the product anyway.