Humane

Humane was an AI hardware startup founded in 2018 by former Apple executives Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno.⁵⁷⁸⁹ The company developed the AI Pin, a wearable device for screenless interactions, which launched in April 2024 to poor reviews.³⁷⁹ In February 2025, Humane shut down its AI Pin business and sold its assets to HP for $116 million.^1234579

Timeline

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What the Full Report on Humane covers

1. The Short Answer

2. Which Company This Is

3. What They Do, And How The Money Works

4. Who Runs It, And How To Reach Them

5. The Money: Funding, Valuation, Runway

6. Who Pays Them, And Who They Are Up Against

7. Warning Bells

8. Sources

   9 cited sources found

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Money raised

Humane raised a total of $230 million in funding.⁸⁹ In August 2019, Humane raised a $9 million seed round.⁹ In September 2020, Humane raised a $30 million Series A round.⁹ In August 2021, Humane raised a $100 million Series B round led by Tiger Global Management.⁹ In March 2023, Humane raised a $100 million Series C round led by Kindred Ventures.⁷⁹ The Series C round included investors such as Microsoft, LG Technology Ventures, Volvo Cars Tech Fund, Tiger Global, Qualcomm Ventures, and Sam Altman.⁷ Humane's valuation after the Series C round in March 2024 was $1.1 billion.⁷ In February 2025, HP acquired Humane's assets for $116 million.³⁵⁷⁹ The AI Pin was initially priced at $699 with a $24 monthly subscription.³⁷⁹

Investors named in the sources: Microsoft³⁷⁹, Sam Altman³⁷⁹, Marc Benioff³⁹, Tiger Global Management⁷⁹, Qualcomm Ventures⁷⁹, LG Technology Ventures⁷, Volvo Cars Tech Fund⁷, Kindred Ventures⁹, SoftBank⁷⁹, BOND⁷⁹, Forerunner Ventures⁷⁹, TIME Ventures⁷, Andreessen Horowitz⁹, Sequoia Capital⁹, Union Square Ventures⁹, Salesforce Ventures⁹, Accel⁹, General Catalyst⁹, Menlo Ventures⁹, Maveron⁹, Footwork⁹, Lachy Groom⁹, Dylan Field⁹, Joshua Schachter⁹, Steve Aoki⁹, Bono⁹, Chloe Sladden⁹, Caffeinated Capital⁹, Electric Capital⁹, Hardware Club⁹, Heretic Ventures⁹, Highbury Group⁹, Jetstream⁹, LGF⁹, Moxxie Ventures⁹, Practical Venture Capital⁹, Quiet Capital⁹, Remus Capital⁹, SciFi VC⁹, South Park Commons⁹, Unusual Ventures⁹, Y Combinator⁹, Aaron Levie⁹, BEN Davenport⁹, Bill TAI⁹, Chung NG⁹, Drew Houston⁹, Gokul Rajaram⁹, Jeffrey LAM⁹, Julia Hartz⁹, ROY Rodenstein⁹, Samuel KIM⁹, Matt Garratt⁹, Alumni Ventures⁹, Stuart Peterson⁹, Better Tomorrow Ventures⁹, FPV Fund⁹, Louis Beryl⁹, Plexo Capital⁹, Valia Ventures⁹, Cantos Ventures⁹, Embedded Ventures⁹, EVE Atlas⁹, Flucas Ventures⁹, Fontinalis Partners⁹, Infinite Capital⁹, Lazerow Ventures⁹, Offline Ventures⁹, Slow Ventures⁹, Venrock⁹, WestCap⁹, Colin Carrier⁹, IAN Schafer⁹, Next Ventures⁹, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati⁹.

What happened

Humane was founded in 2018 by Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, former Apple executives.⁵⁷⁸⁹ The company was headquartered in San Francisco, California.⁷⁸⁹ Humane developed the AI Pin, a wearable AI device for screenless interactions.⁷⁹ The AI Pin was designed to be clipped to clothing and used voice, gestures, and laser projection for interactions.⁹ Humane raised a $9 million seed round in August 2019.⁹

Humane raised a $30 million Series A round in September 2020.⁹ Humane raised a $100 million Series B round in August 2021 led by Tiger Global Management.⁹ Humane raised a $100 million Series C round in March 2023 led by Kindred Ventures.⁷⁹ The Series C round included investors such as Microsoft, LG Technology Ventures, Volvo Cars Tech Fund, Tiger Global, Qualcomm Ventures, and Sam Altman.⁷ Humane's valuation after the Series C round in March 2024 was $1.1 billion.⁷

Humane launched the AI Pin in April 2024 at a price of $699 with a $24 monthly subscription.³⁷⁹ The AI Pin received poor reviews from critics.³⁷⁹ Tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee called the AI Pin "the worst product I’ve ever reviewed."³ The Verge's David Pierce wrote that the AI Pin was "so thoroughly unfinished and so totally broken in so many unacceptable ways."³ Users reported that the AI Pin often failed to complete tasks and answer queries, or took a long time to do so.³

Users also reported issues with the accuracy of information, interface, projector resolution, battery life, and other aspects.³ At one point, Humane warned owners not to use the charging case after discovering it may pose a fire safety risk.³ In the months after launch, daily returns of AI Pins were outpacing sales, according to The Verge.³ The price reduction did not include the original accessories.³ Users still had to pay the $24 monthly subscription fee.³

Humane laid off 4% of its staff in January 2024.⁹ Humane sought buyers shortly after the AI Pin launch.⁹ On February 18, 2025, Humane announced it was shutting down and selling its assets to HP.⁴ HP acquired Humane's assets for $116 million.³⁵⁷⁹ The acquisition included software (CosmOS OS) and over 300 patents.⁷⁹

The Humane team joined HP to form HP IQ, a new AI innovation lab.³ HP IQ was focused on building an intelligent ecosystem across HP's products.³ Humane took the AI Pin off the market.³ Already-purchased AI Pin devices were set to cease working at the end of February 2025.³ Humane urged customers to download any photos, videos, and notes off their devices before February 28, 2025.³

Customers who purchased the AI Pin faced device shutdowns by late February 2025.⁹ Limited refunds were offered only for late shipments.⁹ Humane's founders, Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, joined HP's new AI team.⁹ Chaudhri was to lead AI integration into HP products.⁹ Humane's total funding was over $240 million, according to Fortune.³

Startup Intros reported Humane raised $239 million across 4 funding rounds.⁹ aVenture reported Humane raised $230 million in total.⁸ Humane had 200 employees at the time of the HP acquisition.⁸⁹ Humane's revenue in 2025 was under $5 million, according to UpMarket.⁷ Humane's valuation at the time of the HP acquisition was $116 million.⁷

Humane's previous valuation after the Series C round in March 2024 was $1.1 billion.⁷ Humane's downfall was attributed to shipping a product that was not ready and did not deliver on its promise.³ The launch of ChatGPT in November 2022 created a fast-paced commercial AI race that pressured Humane to launch quickly.³ Humane used an ensemble of AI models including ChatGPT and Gemini.³ Humane was the first consumer hardware launch of the AI era.³

Where the founders are now

Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno joined HP's new AI team after the acquisition.⁹ Chaudhri was to lead AI integration into HP products.⁹

Lessons, as others put them

"The whole saga is a lesson about the risks of shipping products that are not ready and do not deliver on their promise, as has emerged as a trend in the fast-paced AI era."Fortune³

Sources

1. AI startup Humane to wind down wearable pin business, ..., reuters.com, Feb 19, 20
2. Client Challenge, sfgate.com, Feb 19, 20
3. The downfall of AI startup Humane reveals the perils of the AI ‘race’ | Fortune, Fortune, Feb 20, 20
4. AI Pin maker Humane is shutting down, with HP buying ..., axios.com, Feb 18, 20
5. From Future to Fallout: The Rise And Fall of Humane Inc., blog.startupstash.com, Apr 7, 202
6. AI Wearables 1.0: Was Humane’s AI Pin too ambitious?, Apple Podcasts
7. Humane Stock & Funding Data | UpMarket, Alternative Investments Curated for Accredited Investors, 2023-09-26
8. Humane Funding History, Valuation and Investors - aVenture, aVenture
9. Humane: Funding, Team & Investors, Startup Intros, Jul 13, 20

How this case file was put together

Every statement on this page carries a numbered note, and every note points to a court record, a regulatory filing or a named publication in the list of sources. Each statement was checked against the text of the sources it cites before it was published: a figure, a date or a name the cited source does not contain was cut rather than kept. Allegations are shown as allegations, with their status at the time of the source (filed, charged, convicted, pleaded, settled, dismissed or pending). Quoted lessons are the words of the person or publication named with them, copied from the cited source; nothing here is our own opinion of why the company failed.

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