With Humane rumored to be seeking a potential buyer for its Pin AI business, a new report suggests HP could be a contender. According to The New York Times, Humane began talking to HP about a $1 billion-plus sale about a week after reviews emerged that widely discussed its $699 body-worn AI computer tweezers.
The figure also mirrors a similar report from Bloomberg last month that said Humane “expects a price tag of $750 million to $1 billion.” This is also not out of the question for HP, which acquired Palm hardware and the webOS operating system for $1.2 billion in 2010. The following year, HP halted all Palm-related production and support, citing poor sales. LG now has webOS.
Humane executives reportedly had to cool the AI pin with ice packs to make it last longer
Humane — led by former Apple employees Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno — did not respond well to criticism about its product, after slamming negative reviews for a lack of optimism. AI Pin was widely criticized for failing to meet stated expectations, and the company later sent emails to customers warning that the device’s charging case “may pose a fire safety risk.” Pin’s AI laser display would also cause the device to overheat, and the Los Angeles Times reports that Humane executives had to cool it with ice packs beforehand to keep it running longer.
The company reportedly fired a senior software engineer in February for questioning whether the PIN was ready for market, which the Los Angeles Times said violated a policy prohibiting employees from speaking negatively about Humane. Former and current employees told the publication that Chaudhri and Bongiorno disregarded warnings about AI Pin’s poor battery life and power consumption, choosing “positivity over criticism.”
The Times reports that in early April, Humane received about 10,000 orders for the AI Pin, well below the 100,000 units it planned to sell this year. “You don’t know everything before you launch,” Bongiorno told The Times, with Chaudhri adding that he “definitely wishes we could have addressed some of these issues a little differently” in the wake of AI Pin’s poor reviews.
Credit : www.theverge.com
