Humane plans to sell AI Pin business to HP for $1 billion.

Rumors have it that Humane is actively seeking potential buyers for its AI Pin business, and the latest report suggests that HP may be one of the competitors in this deal. According to The New York Times, about a week after Humane's $699 wearable AI computer pin received widespread criticism, the company began negotiations with HP for a purchase price of over $1 billion.

This figure aligns with Bloomberg's report last month, which stated that Humane is seeking to sell for $750 million to $1 billion. HP previously acquired Palm hardware and its webOS operating system for $1.2 billion, which was not unthinkable in 2010. However, HP discontinued all production and support related to Palm in the second year due to poor sales. Today, LG owns webOS.

Humane, led by former Apple employees Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, did not respond well to product criticism. They expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of optimism towards negative reviews. AI Pin received widespread criticism for not meeting expected standards, and the company later sent emails to customers warning them of potential fire hazards with the device's charging case. The laser display of AI Pin also caused overheating, and according to The New York Times, Humane executives had to use ice packs to cool it down for longer operation.

It was reported that the company fired a senior software engineer in February of this year for questioning whether the pin was ready for release, which The New York Times claimed violated the policy of restricting employees from holding negative views of Humane. Former and current employees told the publication that Chaudhri and Bongiorno ignored warnings about the short battery life and high power consumption of AI Pin, preferring "positive reviews over criticism."

The New York Times reported that as of early April this year, Humane had received about 10,000 orders for AI Pin, far from its target of selling 100,000 units this year. "You can't know everything before you release it," Bongiorno said in an interview with The New York Times, and Chaudhri added that they "definitely hope to address some of the issues in a different way" in response to the negative reviews of AI Pin.