HP has acquired Humane’s AI operating system, CosmOS, and related intellectual property, including the technology behind the AI Pin, for $116 million. This acquisition marks the end of Humane as an independent company and effectively renders existing AI Pin devices unusable after February 28th.
While the $116 million price tag may seem substantial, it’s considerably less than Humane’s previous valuation of $850 million. The company reportedly sought a sale price closer to $1 billion. HP’s acquisition encompasses Humane’s OS, its engineering team, and a portfolio of 300 patents and patent applications. Tuan Tran, HP’s lead on AI initiatives, stated that this acquisition will significantly accelerate HP’s development of AI-powered devices capable of seamlessly integrating local and cloud-based AI processing.
HP plans to integrate CosmOS into a wide range of products, including PCs, smart printers, and connected conference rooms. This suggests a broader strategy to infuse AI capabilities across its product ecosystem, potentially transforming even everyday office equipment like printers with AI chatbot functionality. Tran highlighted CosmOS’s ability to leverage both on-device and cloud-based AI models, a feature increasingly common in devices from major tech companies like Google, Apple, and Microsoft. HP aims to secure its position in the competitive AI landscape with this proprietary technology.
Humane’s attempt to sell followed shortly after the release of its first product, the AI Pin, which received largely negative reviews due to slow performance and inaccuracies. The company struggled with sales and even issued a recall of its charging case due to fire hazard concerns.
With the acquisition, Humane has ceased sales of the AI Pin. Existing users have been informed that their devices will cease functioning on February 28th and are encouraged to download any stored media before that date. Refunds are available until February 27th, and requests for replacement battery packs will be fulfilled with device refunds instead.
Last October, Humane shifted its focus to CosmOS as an AI operating system, offering an SDK for businesses to integrate its AI agent capabilities. The OS was touted for its ability to execute complex tasks using multiple AI models and retain context from previous conversations and activities.
Humane’s founders, Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, former Apple employees, will join HP to lead a new AI-focused division. This division will likely concentrate on integrating AI into existing HP devices rather than developing new AI-centric wearables. While the market has yet to see a truly groundbreaking AI wearable, the industry continues to explore this space. With anticipated releases from Meta and other brands this year, it remains to be seen whether consumer interest in AI wearables will rebound after Humane’s experience.
