Humane
acquired by HP9 known investors
Acquired by HP February 2025 · terms undisclosed
Humane was a consumer hardware startup founded by former Apple executives that developed the Ai Pin, a screenless wearable AI device. HP acquired key assets and staff of Humane in February 2025, forming its HP IQ AI innovation lab.
Also known as HP IQ · hu.ma.ne · Humane Inc.
Investors · 9
Also in the syndicate · 3
Valuation · disclosed
Disclosed eventsSource: SEC prospectus filings, and round valuations the company or its investors disclosed — follow each entry's link for the claim.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Humane Inc. (stylized hu.ma.ne) was an American consumer electronics company founded in 2018 in San Francisco by former Apple employees Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, a married couple. Bongiorno served as CEO and Chaudhri as chairman and president; Patrick Gates was CTO. The company operated in stealth until 2021 and described itself as building an integrated device and cloud services platform for artificial intelligence, aimed at a screenless, voice- and gesture-driven form of personal computing intended to reduce time spent on smartphones.
Its sole product was the AI Pin, a two-part wearable — a front processing unit and rear battery magnetically clipped to clothing at chest level — combining a voice-activated AI assistant and cellular phone with a camera, speaker, motion sensors, touchpad and a green monochrome 720p "Laser Ink" projector that displayed onto the user's hand. The device ran CosmOS, a custom Android distribution, and required a $24 monthly subscription for AI and cloud storage features; Tidal was the only supported music streaming service. The Pin was demonstrated at a TED Talk in May 2023, named in July 2023, shown at Paris Fashion Week in September 2023, formally announced on November 9, 2023 at $699, and began shipping in April 2024.
The product received broadly negative reviews and sold poorly. Humane cut 4% of staff in January 2024, sought a buyer from mid-2024, reduced the Pin's price to $499 in October 2024, and had its Charge Case Accessory recalled by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission the same month. In February 2025 HP agreed to acquire most of the company for $116 million, taking on the majority of employees, the CosmOS platform and over 300 patents and patent applications while discontinuing the Pin. Humane stopped selling the device, shut down server connectivity on February 28, 2025, and its team, including both founders, moved to a new HP division called HP IQ.
Founding story
Chaudhri, Apple's former director of design who worked there for 20 years on the iPhone, iPad and Mac and led design of the iPhone home screen, and Bongiorno, a former Apple software engineering director who helped lead software development for iPhone, iPad and Mac, left Apple and founded Humane as a husband-and-wife team. They said they wanted to create a company built on values of trust, truth and joy, and to build devices and a platform for what they called the intelligence age — technology that puts people first rather than extending the information age's screen-centric norms.
Business model
Humane sold consumer hardware directly to end users — the AI Pin at $699 at launch, later $499 — paired with a required $24 monthly subscription that provided cellular connectivity, AI queries and cloud storage. It also explored licensing its CosmOS operating system to other device makers, and pursued strategic collaborations with corporate investors covering distribution (SK Networks), cloud processing (Microsoft), AI models (OpenAI), smart-home R&D (LG) and a potential automotive offering (Volvo Cars).
Hardware sales ($699 at launch, cut to $499 in October 2024) plus a recurring $24 monthly subscription covering AI, connectivity and cloud storage.
Traction
Grew to about 200 employees by 2023, roughly 40% of them former Apple staff, from about 60 in 2021. The AI Pin shipped roughly 10,000 units between April and August 2024 against an internal goal of 100,000 for the year, with reports that returns exceeded purchases between May and August 2024.
Latest developments
In February 2025 Humane announced it had stopped selling the AI Pin and that HP would acquire most of the company for $116 million, including the majority of employees, the CosmOS software platform and more than 300 patents and patent applications, excluding the Pin hardware business. Existing Pins lost server connectivity at 3PM ET / 12:00 AM San Francisco time on February 28, 2025, disabling calling, messaging, AI queries and cloud access, and all remaining customer data on Humane's servers was deleted. Refunds were limited to devices within a 90-day return window, with requests due by February 27, 2025, plus prorated subscription refunds and partial refunds for recalled charging cases. Humane's founders and team formed HP IQ, an HP AI innovation lab focused on an intelligent ecosystem across HP PCs, printers and connected conference rooms; humane.com now redirects to hp-iq.com.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Humane was one of the most heavily capitalized entrants in the 2023–2024 wave of standalone AI hardware, raising $230 million from strategic and celebrity investors, but failed to achieve product-market fit. Against a target of 100,000 units in its first year it had shipped about 10,000 by August 2024, with returns reportedly outpacing purchases between May and August 2024. Its eventual sale price of $116 million was far below the $750 million to $1 billion range it initially sought.
A screenless, clothing-mounted wearable using voice, hand gestures and laser projection instead of a display, backed by founders and staff with deep Apple hardware and software experience, a proprietary AI operating system, and strategic ties to Microsoft, OpenAI, Qualcomm, LG, Volvo and SK Networks. Reviewers concluded these differentiators were undermined in practice by slow performance, errors, overheating and subscription cost.
Technology
CosmOS, a custom Android distribution serving as the AI Pin's operating system and later positioned as a platform other manufacturers could embed; a laser projection display system in place of a screen; camera, 3D camera, depth and motion sensors, heart-rate sensor and Qualcomm Snapdragon silicon per patent filings; cloud AI processing supplied via Microsoft with OpenAI model integration. The IP portfolio transferred to HP comprised more than 300 patents and patent applications.
Go-to-market
Direct-to-consumer sales of the AI Pin with a monthly subscription, supported by high-profile publicity including a TED Talk demonstration, a Paris Fashion Week showcase and inclusion in Time's Best 200 Inventions of 2023 (published before release and without a review unit; Time's co-chairs Marc and Lynne Benioff were Humane investors). SK Networks was announced as a distribution partner. Reporting indicates Humane never hired a head of marketing despite employee concerns.
Consumers seeking an alternative to smartphones and reduced screen time; partner channels also targeted smart home and automotive applications, and post-acquisition the technology was directed at enterprise and workplace devices.
Geography
Headquartered in San Francisco, California. Distribution partner SK Networks and R&D partners LG and Volvo Cars extended its commercial reach internationally.
History
Founded in 2018 by Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno after long careers at Apple, Humane operated in stealth while filing patents, including a 2020 USPTO application for a body-worn device using a laser projection system instead of a display. It emerged from stealth in 2021 alongside a $100 million Series B, having previously raised roughly $12 million and a $30 million Series A in September 2020 at a $150 million valuation. A $100 million Series C followed in March 2023, bringing total funding to $230 million and headcount to 200. The AI Pin was revealed in 2023 and shipped in April 2024 to poor reviews; layoffs, a buyer search, a price cut and an accessory recall followed, ending with HP's $116 million acquisition of most of the company in February 2025 and the shutdown of the AI Pin service on February 28, 2025.
Risks & controversies
Reviews criticized poor battery life, overheating and thermal control, slow and frequently inaccurate responses, and limited usefulness; The Verge said it "just doesn't work," and Marques Brownlee called it "the worst product I've ever reviewed." The New York Times, drawing on 23 current and former employees, advisers and investors, reported that internal warnings about the device's viability were dismissed, that at least one senior software engineer was fired after questioning launch readiness, and that executives chilled the device with ice packs before investor and partner demos. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled the Charge Case Accessory on October 31, 2024 over a lithium-polymer battery fire hazard. The February 2025 shutdown rendered purchased devices largely unusable and deleted customer data, with refunds available only to recent buyers.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 12
launches, deals, and filingsHumane stopped selling the AI Pin and existing devices lost server connectivity at 3PM ET on February 28, 2025, disabling calling, messaging, AI queries and cloud access; remaining customer data was deleted. Refunds were limited to devices within a 90-day return window with requests due by February 27, 2025.
HP acquired the majority of Humane's employees, the CosmOS software platform and more than 300 patents and patent applications for $116 million, excluding the AI Pin hardware business. Founders Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno joined HP to form HP IQ, an AI innovation lab spanning HP PCs, printers and connected conference rooms.
$116M source ↗
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled the accessory over a fire hazard posed by its lithium-polymer battery.
Price reduced from $699 to $499, excluding charging case or spare battery.
Humane was reported to be seeking a buyer, initially considering offers in the $750 million to $1 billion range; the New York Times reported talks with HP.
The wearable started shipping in April 2024 and received broadly negative reviews.
Device formally announced on November 9, 2023, with sales starting one week later at $699 plus a $24 monthly subscription.
Series C brought total funding to $230 million; investors included SK Networks, LG Technology Ventures, Microsoft, Volvo Cars Tech Fund, Tiger Global, Qualcomm Ventures and Sam Altman.
$100M source ↗
Microsoft to supply cloud processing power, SK Networks to handle distribution, OpenAI to integrate its technology into Humane's device, LG to work on R&D and smart home adaptation, and Volvo on a potential automotive offering; Qualcomm also named a partner.
Listed before the product was released and without Time being provided a review unit; Time co-chairs Marc and Lynne Benioff were Humane investors.
Series B financing with SoftBank Group, BOND, Forerunner Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, Sam Altman, Lachy Groom, Kindred Ventures, TIME Ventures, Valia Ventures, NEXT VENTŪRES, Plexo Capital and Wilson Sonsini participating; valuation undisclosed. Company had about 60 employees and was still in stealth.
$100M source ↗
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
Humane Society of San Bernardino Valley’s Par-Tee for Paws event raises $20,000dailybulletin.com · Jul 2026▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Humane Inc. - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Humane do?
- Humane was a San Francisco consumer-electronics startup behind the AI Pin wearable; HP acquired most of it in February 2025.
- Who are Humane's investors?
- Humane's investors include Kindred Ventures, Next Ventures, Valia Ventures, SoftBank Group, Tiger Global Management, Top Tier Capital Partners.
- Who acquired Humane?
- Humane was acquired by HP.