HP acquires Humane AI assets and the AI pin will suffer a humane death

The Human AI Pin on a hoodie and a hand showing its laser projector

(Image credit: Humane)

Humane AI Pin's short, bumpy ride may be over. HP announced on Tuesday (February 18) that it was acquiring the company's AI assets and absorbing some employees for $116 million. Humane also announced that it is discontinuing the AI Pin.

In a release on the acquisition, HP notes that it will "acquire key AI capabilities from Humane, including their AI-powered platform Cosmos, highly skilled technical talent, and intellectual property with more than 300 patents and patent applications." It makes no mention of hardware.

Humane AI was a fascinating wearable AI computing device that arrived in November 2023. Instead of a screen, the device featured a camera to watch your world and a tiny projector; you held out your hand and could see little messages and information from the pin. You interacted with the platform through voice and gestures. It sounded, at the time, like the future.

Humane AI Pin, though, ran aground in April 2024 when early adopters delivered scathing reviews. YouTube giant Marques Brownlee called it "The worst product I've ever reviewed... for now." That conclusion and a collection of other terrible reviews more or less sealed its fate. Well, that and issues with the batter clip that may have been a fire hazard. Even TechRadar rated it one of the biggest tech flops of 2024.

HP AI gets Humane

HP, though, sounds more than impressed with the system's AI capabilities and plans to weave them (or some form of them) throughout HP products. From the release: Humane's engineers "will help us create an intelligent ecosystem across all HP devices from AI PCs to smart printers and connected conference rooms. This will unlock new levels of functionality for our customers and deliver on the promises of AI."

For HP, which has been comparatively quiet on the AI innovation front, this acquisition could be a real boon to its business. As for the Humane AI team, they have nothing but praise for their new owners. In a release on the Humane website, Bethany Bongiorno and Imran Chaudhri, Co-founders of Humane, wrote, "We’re excited to join HP at such a pivotal moment in the industry and help shape the future of intelligent experiences,” said.

Humane said in a separate release that the Humane Pins will no longer connect to Humane’s cloud servers after February 28, 2025.

The asset acquisition is good news for Humane AI fans and less good news for those who paid $699 for the pin. Perhaps HP will offer them, discounts on whatever HP products end up featuring Humane AI.

Clarification 2-18-2025: An earlier version of this story indicated that HP would discontinue the Humane Pin. HP tells us "HP is not buying Humane, nor are we shutting down their pin." The company is "acquiring key assets".

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A 38-year industry veteran and award-winning journalist, Lance has covered technology since PCs were the size of suitcases and “on line” meant “waiting.” He’s a former Lifewire Editor-in-Chief, Mashable Editor-in-Chief, and, before that, Editor in Chief of PCMag.com and Senior Vice President of Content for Ziff Davis, Inc. He also wrote a popular, weekly tech column for Medium called The Upgrade.

Lance Ulanoff makes frequent appearances on national, international, and local news programs including Live with Kelly and Mark, the Today Show, Good Morning America, CNBC, CNN, and the BBC.