Humane’s AI Pin Shutdown: What It Means for Users and the Future of Technology with HP’s Acquisition

Humane is set to sell most of its business to HP for $116 million and will discontinue the AI Pin, as announced today.

The AI Pins that people already own will keep working until 3 PM ET on February 28th. After that, they won’t connect to Humane’s services anymore. This means users won’t be able to make calls, send messages, or access AI features. It’s important for users to back up their data, including photos and notes, before this date.

Once the service is shut down, some offline features like checking battery levels will still be available, but anything relying on internet connectivity will not work.

Humane will give refunds only for AI Pins returned within 90 days of purchase. Refund requests must be in by February 27, 2025. If you have a subscription that extends beyond February 28, you will receive a prorated refund.

Customers waiting for a replacement charging case will automatically get a refund for that part of their purchase after February 28, 2025.

HP will acquire Humane’s CosmOS and will also gain over 300 patents. They plan to keep Humane’s technical team to support this integration.

Humane reportedly sought a buyer soon after launching the AI Pin, hoping for a deal worth as much as $1 billion, which is significantly more than the $116 million agreement announced today. Reports indicated that the AI Pin struggled in sales, even leading to returns surpassing purchases, prompting a price cut in October.

Even with some new features added to the AI Pin, Humane seemed to shift focus towards marketing CosmOS as an operating system for other devices.

Bloomberg reports that Humane’s founders, Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, will form a new team at HP named HP IQ. This team will work on incorporating AI into HP’s future products, creating smarter systems for personal computers and other devices.