When the Humane AI Pin launched in April it was totally panned by reviewers. So, it's no surprise that the $699 wearable AI device has seen near-immediate returns from dissatisfied customers according to a new report.
The Verge managed to uncover internal sales data, which shows that between May and August of this year more AI Pins were returned to Humane than purchased.
The recalled charging case with potential to burst into flames definitely didn't help Humane's case, either.
In late May, it was reported that the Humane was looking to sell and somehow claimed a valuation between $750 million and $1 billion. No surprise to Tom's Guide Managing Editor of Computing Jason England who predicted that startups like Humane and Rabbit's goals were to be purchased by larger companies.
According to their X profiles, both co-founders, Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno have claimed that the Humane team is hard at work patching up the software for the AI pin and adding improvements on a weekly basis.
From the outside, it's a company chugging along improving their device and providing more utility to customers, while internally this is a company that managed to finagle $200 million in investments yet lay off staff before the product launched, and has had a revolving door in the executive team.
An unnamed source told The Verge that the AI Pin received harsh feedback from early testers including from employee's friends and family with some saying the product failed to replicate demo videos. The device was launched despite that feedback.
Not to be outdone, the flawed Rabbit R1 that launched soon after AI Pin is going through its own issues. Just this month, 404 Media reported that the company refuses to take responsibility for its ongoing security breach issues blaming everyone from journalists and hacktivists to "malicious employees."
More from Tom's Guide
- Rabbit R1 vs Humane AI Pin vs Limitless Pendant: AI wearables compared
- GPT-4o just killed the Rabbit R1 and Humane AI Pin — here's why
- Forget the Humane AI Pin — this new AI pendant from Limitless actually looks useful
