Humane AI Pin

The Promise

Humane was founded in 2018 by Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, both former Apple designers who had worked on the iPhone and iPad. Their thesis was provocative: the smartphone era was ending, and the future was screenless computing. The AI Pin would be the first device of this new paradigm—a wearable that sat on your chest and freed you from the tyranny of the glowing rectangle.

The device launched in April 2024 after years of secretive development and TED talks about the “post-smartphone” era. At $699 plus a $24/month subscription, the AI Pin promised to be your always-available AI assistant. It could answer questions, make calls, send messages, take photos, and project information onto your palm using a tiny laser display.

The vision was genuinely ambitious: a world where technology receded from view, where you engaged with AI through natural conversation rather than tapping glass. The founders’ Apple pedigree suggested they understood design and user experience at the deepest level.

The Rise

Humane raised $230 million from top-tier investors including Salesforce’s Marc Benioff, Sam Altman (before he returned to OpenAI), and Microsoft. The company was valued at $850 million before shipping a single unit. The investor thesis was simple: if anyone could invent the post-smartphone device, it was the people who helped design the smartphone.

The marketing was impeccable. Chaudhri’s TED talk announcing the AI Pin went viral. Tech media lavished attention on every detail. The waitlist grew. Pre-orders opened. Humane was positioned as the most exciting hardware startup since the early days of consumer drones.

By early 2024, the company claimed to have received around 10,000 orders—a promising start for a premium device entering an entirely new category.

The Fall

Then the reviews came in. They were catastrophic.

The Verge’s David Pierce said the AI Pin “just doesn’t work.” YouTuber Marques Brownlee called it “the worst product I’ve ever reviewed.” The complaints were comprehensive: the device was slow, the voice recognition was unreliable, the laser display was nearly useless in daylight, the battery life was poor, and it ran hot enough to be uncomfortable against the body.

Worse, everything the AI Pin could do, a smartphone could do better. And unlike the AI Pin, the smartphone was something people already owned. The pitch of screenless computing collapsed against the reality that screens exist because humans have eyes and hands.

By August 2024, Humane’s daily returns were outpacing sales. The company that had hoped to sell 100,000 units had managed perhaps 10,000—and many of those were coming back. Reports emerged of the company seeking a buyer, with an asking price of $750 million to $1 billion.

The end came in early 2025 when Humane announced it would brick existing devices with limited refunds. Customers who had bought the AI Pin before November 15, 2024, weren’t eligible for refunds. A $700 device with a $24/month subscription became an expensive piece of jewelry—and then, nothing at all.

Warning Signs

• Solution in search of a problem: The “screenless computing” thesis ignored why screens became ubiquitous—they’re useful
• High price, low capability: $699 plus subscription for less functionality than a free smartphone app was indefensible
• Ignoring basic ergonomics: A device that runs hot against your body failed Hardware 101
• Pre-revenue hype: $230M in funding and massive media attention before proving the product worked
• Designer hubris: Apple pedigree bred overconfidence that design could overcome fundamental product limitations

Epitaph

🪦 Pinned its hopes on a screen-free future that nobody wanted