5/28/2024: Overfunded AI Company is Looking for an Exit
If you just look at the title of this article, you probably wonder which company I am referring to since many overhyped AI companies fall into this category. I am positive I can make 5+ posts with the same title in the next 24 months. Humane AI, who just launched their smart AI pin about a month ago, is looking for a buyer. The company was founded by two Apple engineers in 2018 and has raised $230M up to date. The AI pin is a wearable gadget you attach to your clothing and it costs $699 + $24 per month subscription fee. After watching the review video above, I have no intention to spend $699 for a gadget like this. The AI pin is basically ChatGPT on the go plus some functionalities of a smartphone. But it doesn’t seem to work very well as it is very slow to respond to your requests and when it does respond, half of the time the AI pin is telling people it couldn’t fulfill the request!! To be fair, Humane AI pin seems to be a lot better than the other buzzy AI wearable rabbit r1. But better doesn’t mean good enough. I don’t believe most consumers need or want this. If anything, Apple should take a look at this and make the iPhone/Apple Watch more AI friendly. A dedicated mobile device to serve as an AI assistant seems to be an overkill.
After the underwhelming launch, Humane AI is now looking to sell itself for $750M - $1B dollars. The company raised $230M from impressive investors like Tiger Global, Softbank and Sam Altman. But I don’t know who will be interested in acquiring this. I am sure the Humane built a lot of cool technology to get to this point from scratch. I applaud their achievements. But the business world is brutal. It doesn’t appear they will generate a lot of consumer demand for this AI pin. Their software most likely heavily depends on ChatGPT. Their hardware looks cool and somewhat innovative but I wouldn’t say it’s impressive or anything. It’s like Pebble or Jawbone. I get the idea but I don’t see how it will succeed in the long run beside Apple taking this idea and doing it better.