Discussion

• @theopriestley.com Theo on bluesky

  Acquire what exactly?  —  Parts from Radio Shack in a 3d printed plastic shell that calls ChatGPT?  —  HP got conned lol lmao [embedded post]

• @techsocial @techsocial on bluesky

  HP is the new IBM.  Where products go to die.

• @quillmatiq.com Anuj Ahooja on bluesky

  Okay, now do Rabbit [embedded post]

• @wandrme.paxex.aero Seth Miller on bluesky

  Call it an aqui-hire, I suppose.  —  But, still, why would you pay that much to get those founders on board?  They did not understand the demand, the challenges to develop the product, nor the potential capabilities of the efforts.  [embedded post]

• @parkscopejoe Parkscope Joe on bluesky

  remember that LoveFrom, is parterning with OpenAI to do a gadget lol [embedded post]

• @edzitron.com Ed Zitron on bluesky

  Literally any reporter who treated this device seriously when it was so obviously stupid should be laughed out of any room they're in.  Abominably stupid product, obviously silly, execution was worse than expected.  A landmark moment for the AI bubble.  The first of many to die […

• @quinnypig.com Corey Quinn on bluesky

  I look forward to the bright and transformative products that are sure to come from HP after this acquisition! [embedded post]

• @daniloc.xyz Danilo on bluesky

  Oooooof.  That's not even a fire sale, that's selling a guy a sack of ashes to put in his garden in exchange for a root beer.  Recall they were hoping to get a billion dollar exit for their folly [embedded post]

• @dub @dub on bluesky

  For a bunch of Apple veterans, I'd imagine HP is a bit of a rough landing [embedded post]

• @caseynewton Casey Newton on bluesky

  I look forward to HP's forthcoming line of wearable printers that require a monthly data plan subscription and can't understand what you're saying

• @camwilson@mastodon.social @camwilson@mastodon.social on mastodon

  for @sizzle i wrote about the death of one of the first major “AI” gadgets, the Humane AI Pin  —  It didn't work, almost to a comic extent, but I wish more people and companies would try to make interesting things rather than just updating phones thinner with better cameras https…

• @harrymccracken@mastodon.social Harry McCracken on mastodon

  Kinda like HP's Palm acquisition all over again, except not even trying this time? https://www.bloomberg.com/...

• @vishwanathsarangkeller Vishwanath Sarang Keller on threads

  Humane has a buyer, which is more than what you can say for the pin itself.  😛

• @joannastern Joanna Stern on threads

  I told you guys, AI printers.  They're the future. https://www.bloomberg.com/...

• @benedictevans Benedict Evans on threads

  Humane is done.  Sold for scrap to HP for half the funds raised. https://www.bloomberg.com/...

• @documentingmeta @documentingmeta on threads

  “Humane was reportedly looking for a seller around the $1 Billion valuation” is the funniest shit I've read all day 😂 If there was a hyped tech product that you could call “dead on arrival” in recent times, it was probably the Humane AI pin.  RIP, you will not be missed.

• @carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on threads

  HP really waited for a startup to go on sale and it worked.

• @young.mete @young.mete on threads

  Going from working at Apple > to trying to beat Apple with an AI-first device > to helping integrate AI into printers must be quite a journey.

• @young.mete @young.mete on threads

  The downfall of Humane does reinforce the understanding that AI (so far) has been a sustaining vs a disruptive innovation - i.e it further entrenches the incumbents by enhancing their existing products and business models. …

• @eshumarneedi @eshumarneedi on threads

  OK, seriously, the Humane Ai Pin doesn't work without a $25/month subscription to connect to Humane's MVNO.  How is that going to work if HP shuts down the business?  Is there a refund process for current owners?  This company is sleazy AF.

• @tomgara Tom Gara on threads

  RIP, you were too beautiful for this cruel world https://www.bloomberg.com/...

• @tomgara Tom Gara on threads

  The future of Humane raises the possibility of one of the most terrifying technologies ever developed by mankind: a superintelligent HP inkjet printer

• @basicappleguy Basic Apple Guy on x

  [image]

• @linusekenstam Linus Ekenstam on x

  One can only hope @Humane continues to operate under @HP - So much honest work has gone into the software and hardware. [image]

• @raywongy Ray Wong on x

  Jony Ive and Sam Altman better be cooking hard

• @michaelmacleod1 Michael MacLeod on x

  Humane has absolutely binned its incredibly loyal early adopter customer base here. 10 days notice that your device is getting bricked. A community comms disasterclass. Glad I never bought one. Had so much potential but hiring a fanboy and focusing too much on AI put me off. [ima…

• @bearlyai @bearlyai on x

  reasonable prediction for what happens to Humane PIN after selling to HP for $116m (following 6 years and $230m in funding) [image]

• @markgurman Mark Gurman on x

  Humane is selling itself to HP for $116 million and shutting down the AI Pin, bringing an end to a once-hot startup that aimed to replace the iPhone and iPad its founders helped create. Story with @BrodyFord_ https://www.bloomberg.com/...

• @maxwinebach Max Weinbach on x

  Well I now have an $800 brick this sucks Good for HP tho the IP behind Humane and the AI has always had good value and will be VERY useful in enterprise

• @charliemelbye Charlie Melbye on x

  What a disappointment that they couldn't convince HP to let them open the device up to the community instead of turning it into a paperweight.

• @mkbhd Marques Brownlee on x

  @markgurman @BrodyFord_ One. Last. Ripoff.

• @zck Zak Kukoff on x

  HP bought two of the most interesting hardware companies of the last 20 years (the Palm reboot and Humane) and yet exclusively uses them to make their printers shittier. Heartbreaking

• @nearcyan Near on x

  everyone who bought the $700 AI pin got literally rugged

• @aallan Alasdair Allan on x

  The only shocking thing here is that the dead carcass of the company was worth $116 million. https://techcrunch.com/...

• @sdw Sebastiaan de With on x

  I am honestly just incredibly curious how HP is going to sell Humane to LG down the line so they can turn it into an interface for smart TVs

• @sammdec Sam Mason de Caires on x

  Humane getting acquired by HP and shutting down the AI Pin by the end of the month is pre Isley why I choose not to use any AI that learns about me unless I can export that knowledge set and import it into some other service. Ideally in an OSS kind of way or why ideally owning

• @gartenberg Michael Gartenberg on x

  Well, there's a waste of $116m. This thing was never going to be a success at its absurd price point, costly subscription model and lack of function. Meta/Ray-Ban actually delivered on an AI wearable that works well IMHO. Humane was doomed from the start.

• @ettinger Andrew Ettinger on x

  I was laid off from Humane today. I was the partnerships lead who did the deal with Quibi. I learned so much in my time with the company, but I unfortunately will not be retained the HP OfficeJet team. If you're hiring a hungry biz dev guy please DM me. The intersection of tech […

• @chrisjbakke Chris Bakke on x

  The plan: Stay in stealth for 6 years Raise $250M Ship a v1 Get bad reviews Sell the company and get $8M/yr SVP jobs at HP [image]

• @hemeon Marc Hemeon on x

  Saw the @Humane news today on them shutting down and founders heading to @HP - I respect anyone who tries to build something new. It's very very hard. Shout out to them and the very talented engineers and designers who worked there.

• @humane @humane on x

  https://humane.com/...

• @cohensite Joe Cohen on x

  15 years ago, HP acquired Palm to put WebOS on printers I suspect acquiring Humane to put AI on printers will be about as successful

• @gonzalo__nunez Gonzalo Nuñez on x

  The Humane founders having to go work on AI for OfficeJet™ Printers at HP is the ultimate Sisyphean punishment for the prototypical Steve Jobs larper-founder. I cannot imagine anything more cruel

• @aviel @aviel on x

  Anyone talking shit about this is an idiot. If anyone lost here it was HP. Humane + their investors took a huge swing, and as an investor getting half of my money back on a moonshot is a huge win.

• @growing_daniel Daniel on x

  imagine your company eats shit so hard you are doomed to work at the HP printer division. Didn't even know that was a possible outcome

• @willahmed Will Ahmed on x

  I see a lot of people dunking on the founders and team that built @Humane for shutting down. I can't speak to the product as I never used one, but I think we should encourage consumer hardware builders. It's an enormously difficult thing - consumer hardware - and without

• @mkbhd Marques Brownlee on x

  Time to finally cancel my subscription. RIP

• @mycoliza @mycoliza on x

  “HP” stands for “Humane ai Pin”

• @burnedlead @burnedlead on x

  I just got the call. HP is making me the chief AI engineer in charge of integrating Humane's technology into their printers. That's right. Every printer will now have AI. Need ink? AI will automatically order cartridges at a 400% markup—before you even realize you're out.

• @brianroemmele Brian Roemmele on x

  I hate to say I told you... Humane is selling itself to HP for $116 million and shutting down the AI Pin, it will now USELESS electronics. Anhyped startup suffered from a vast misunderstanding of AI. I applied the day they stated and HR never replied.🥸 https://www.bloomberg.com/.…

• @trungtphan Trung Phan on x

  if the Humane team can take a single line of its AI code to make my HP printer not jam after 4 pieces of paper, it will have all been worth it

• @sdw Sebastiaan de With on x

  Not surprised that Humane is gone, and how fitting that it was HP — a place a lot of promising tech goes to pasture. Remember webOS? [image]

• @thdxr Dax on x

  humane acquired for $116M by HP they raised $230M so it's a loss but it should have went to $0 sometimes you see even with a solid structure the private market is still horrible at capital allocation

• @jnnnthnn @jnnnthnn on x

  can't wait to get my new hp label pin-ter [image]

• @pitdesi Sheel Mohnot on x

  Humane AI pin is winding down HP is acquiring the team, IP and software for $116M Founders Imran and Bethany, will form a new division at HP to integrate AI into HP PC's, printers and connected conference rooms. [image]

• @neilcybart Neil Cybart on x

  In what should come as a surprise to no one, Humane is done. Sold to HP for scraps. The moral of the story: Don't bet against screens. I wrote the following in 2023. Humane's fate was sealed before they even sold one pin. https://www.aboveavalon.com/ ... [image]

• @counternotions Kontra on x

  Finally, Ai pin → HP, where bad ideas go to die. Surprise, the smartphone remains undead. ↓ [image]

• @rjonesy Ryan Jones on x

  Negative value, risk, and perception on the hardware business. Surely all stock. VC's get HP stock 🤣. Founders prob have to work a couple years to get their's. https://www.bloomberg.com/...

• @mikeisaac Rat King on x

  i think i agree? what amounts to a 100 million dollar acquihire is a decent outcome compared to shutting the doors and investors marking a zero on their balance sheet product was DOA so they had no leverage except AI talent which is at a premium right now

• @scobleizer Robert Scoble on x

  The end of an AI hardware experiment. Lots of reasons this didn't do well, from trying to get people to do something they don't already do (wear a computer on their clothes) to poor execution. The research @IrenaCronin and I do shows glasses are the form factor but they are

• @gergelyorosz Gergely Orosz on x

  Compare this outcome with when a startup simply shuts down abruptly. Like Fast did: the company in full-swing hiring, just 3 weeks before all money ran out. Employees thought all was fine until 11 days before. (Affirm did take over devs, as negotiated by Fast's Head of

• @gergelyorosz Gergely Orosz on x

  This might be unpopular to say: but this is a VERY good save by Humane's leadership. Humane raised $230M: which sounds like much, but hardware is expensive! It had a product launch that was (unfortunately) a massive flop. Now sold for $116M and most employees keep their jobs.

• @gergelyorosz Gergely Orosz on x

  And yes, I agree with this: That HP was willing to pay $100M+ for this team is just icing on the cake. After that very poorly received launch, an acquisition looked like the only possible positive outcome. Congrats on them pulling it off! https://x.com/...

• @gergelyorosz Gergely Orosz on x

  Investors will likely lose fifty cents on the dollar - but likely not a full writeoff. This outcome is much, much better than if the company eventually went bankrupt, and had to let everyone go. Plus, HP now has a hardware unit focused on AI gadgets! And HP won't miss the $116M

• @kyliebytes Kylie Robison on x

  My first big scoop at The Verge was reporting Humane's financials: Between May & August 2024, more AI Pins were returned than purchased. As of August 2024, the number of units still in customer hands had fallen closer to 7,000 + brought in just over $9 million in lifetime sales.

• @kateclarktweets Kate Clark on x

  Ouch. Humane is shutting down and selling for $116M—about half of what it raised in VC funding. https://x.com/...

• r/hardware r on reddit

  Humane is shutting down the AI Pin and selling its remnants to HP

• r/LinusTechTips r on reddit

  Humane is shutting down the AI Pin and selling its remnants to HP

• r/Android r on reddit

  Humane is shutting down the AI Pin and selling its remnants to HP

• r/gadgets r on reddit

  Humane is shutting down the AI Pin and selling its remnants to HP

• r/technology r on reddit

  Humane is shutting down the AI Pin and selling its remnants to HP

• r/apple r on reddit

  HP to Acquire Parts of Humane, Ai Pin Startup From Ex-Apple Managers, for $116 Million

• @marypcbuk Mary Branscombe on bluesky

  I see HP is still where underbaked consumer hardware goes to die [embedded post]

• @quinnypig.com Corey Quinn on bluesky

  This reads like during the due diligence process some enterprising HP lawyer looked into what PII Humane had, then had a massive coronary at the unbounded risk it represented.  [embedded post]

• @elvin_not_11 Elvin on x

  Offline features like battery level [image]

• r/technology r on reddit

  All of Humane's AI pins will stop working in 10 days