HP to Acquire Parts of Humane for $116M(bloomberg.com)
bloomberg.com
HP to Acquire Parts of Humane for $116M
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-18/hp-116-million-deal-for-humane-includes-ip-but-no-ai-pin-device
20 comments
It's a $700 device with a $24/month subscription fee, and will be bricked in ten days.
At least the equally-panned Rabbit R1, released around the same timeframe and riding the same AI hype, only cost $200 with no subscription.
At least the equally-panned Rabbit R1, released around the same timeframe and riding the same AI hype, only cost $200 with no subscription.
Amusingly, Rabbit just announced today that they're now shipping at Best Buy - their first steps towards brick and mortar exposure.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/rabbit-r1-mobile-ai-device-pers...
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/rabbit-r1-mobile-ai-device-pers...
> Our support team is here to help at [email protected] through February 28th, 2025.
If someone had written this as satire when they released the pin it would have seemed a little harsh
If someone had written this as satire when they released the pin it would have seemed a little harsh
Alas, the pricey e-waste reaches its unsurprising end of life.
What could Humane possibly have that HP couldn’t do on their own for that much money?
A 116M acquihire. This sounds like a really bad decision on HP's part unless we're missing details, especially since HP has mostly moved out of Cupertino to Houston
> The deal will include the majority of Humane’s employees in addition to its software platform and intellectual property, the company said Tuesday. It will not include Humane’s Ai pin device business, which will be wound down, an HP spokesman said.
> Humane’s team, including founders Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, will form a new division at HP to help integrate artificial intelligence into the company’s personal computers, printers and connected conference rooms, said Tuan Tran, who leads HP’s AI initiatives.
Edit: the article doesn't say this, however they raised 230M, so it's possible Humane has 115M in the bank and they acquire this through the acquihire.
> The deal will include the majority of Humane’s employees in addition to its software platform and intellectual property, the company said Tuesday. It will not include Humane’s Ai pin device business, which will be wound down, an HP spokesman said.
> Humane’s team, including founders Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, will form a new division at HP to help integrate artificial intelligence into the company’s personal computers, printers and connected conference rooms, said Tuan Tran, who leads HP’s AI initiatives.
Edit: the article doesn't say this, however they raised 230M, so it's possible Humane has 115M in the bank and they acquire this through the acquihire.
The acquisition will not include Humane’s AI pin device business, which will be wound down, an HP spokesperson said.
Those 300 parents could be worth something.
Not a big surprise. They took a big swing but it seemed pretty clear it was a big miss.
Props to the management for keeping everyone employed even as the company and product died.
Props to the management for keeping everyone employed even as the company and product died.
I bet this was their goal all along. I was saying this when the product launched.
Funny, I don't see anything in this announcement about refunds?...
Funny, I don't see anything in this announcement about refunds?...
The goal from the start was to raise $230M and then get acqui-hired for $116M by HP?
https://support.humane.com/hc/en-us/articles/34374173951373-...
They shoved those in a little "important update" FAQ.
"You are eligible to receive a refund if your product shipped on or after November 15th, 2024. All device shipments prior to November 15th, 2024 are not eligible for refunds. All refunds must be submitted by February 27th, 2025."
Oh, and good news... "After February 28, 2025, Ai Pin will still allow for offline features like battery level, etc., but will not include any function that requires cloud connectivity like voice interactions, AI responses, and .Center access." ... you can still look at your battery level, I suppose!
They shoved those in a little "important update" FAQ.
"You are eligible to receive a refund if your product shipped on or after November 15th, 2024. All device shipments prior to November 15th, 2024 are not eligible for refunds. All refunds must be submitted by February 27th, 2025."
Oh, and good news... "After February 28, 2025, Ai Pin will still allow for offline features like battery level, etc., but will not include any function that requires cloud connectivity like voice interactions, AI responses, and .Center access." ... you can still look at your battery level, I suppose!
How does this deal get made unless someone at HP owes some humane investor a favor?
it depends on how much money they had left in the bank. they raised $230m and are being acquired for $116m
highly unlikely they spent all of it. If they spent 130 million dollars, for example, they'd have $100m in the bank and this $116m txn is net $10m acquihire.
Financially, this probably didn't cost HP much yet. The real cost is whatever they approved for this team to build next, which will likely be a money pit.
highly unlikely they spent all of it. If they spent 130 million dollars, for example, they'd have $100m in the bank and this $116m txn is net $10m acquihire.
Financially, this probably didn't cost HP much yet. The real cost is whatever they approved for this team to build next, which will likely be a money pit.
M&A whizzes make fancy PowerPoint presentations on "synergy" potential to various suitors in a roadshow.
Official Humane release: https://humane.com/media/humane-hp
More discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43095811
300 patents... patents > PMF.
"Your Ai Pin will continue to function normally until 12pm PST on February 28, 2025. After this date, it will no longer connect to Humane’s servers, and .Center access will be fully retired."