You better believe Humane will milk the media hype cycle for all it’s worth. After all, the company has been buzzing ever since it first dealt with the media — before it offered the slightest bit of knowledge about what it was working on. This is thanks to it being founded by prominent Apple expatriates and raising a significant amount of early-stage startup funding.
At the end of 2020, it raised a $30 million Series A at a $150 million valuation. A $100 million Series B round arrived the following September, including Tiger Global Management, SoftBank Group, BOND, Forerunner Ventures, and Qualcomm Ventures. It all seemed like a strong vote of confidence for the still-disguised company. Last March, it went ahead and raised another $100 million.
In June, Humane revealed that its inaugural product would be an “AI Pin.”
“the [AI Pin is a] The connected, smart, clothing-based wearable device uses an array of sensors that enable contextual and environmental computing interactions, the company noted at the time. “The Ai Pin is a type of standalone device with a software platform that harnesses the power of Ai to enable innovative personal computing experiences.”
It was confirmed today that the device will receive a proper reveal at the November 9 event. Meanwhile, she’s making the rounds at some Parisian fashion shows. The device appears to have appeared on supermodel Naomi Campbell’s lapel during Coperni’s Spring/Summer 2024 show at Paris Fashion Week, making her “the first person outside the company to wear the device in public.”
Image credits: Luca Tombolini for Coperni
“We have been fans of Arnaud and Sebastien at Coperni for some time, and our shared passion for the union of design, creativity and technology is at the core of this collaboration,” Imran Choudhury and Bethany Bongiorno, founders of Humane, said in a statement. “Our relationship with technology is changing profoundly, becoming more personal as our devices become extensions of our bodies, minds, and hearts.”
They go on to refer to the system as “a new paradigm for AI-driven ambient computing.” Humane describes the device further,
Humane Ai Pin is a standalone, screenless device and software platform built from the ground up for artificial intelligence. The clothing-based smart wearable device uses an array of sensors that enable natural and intuitive computational interactions, and is designed to blend seamlessly into users’ daily lives. The device is privacy-first, with aspects such as no wake word and therefore no “always-on” listening, reflecting Humane’s vision of building products that put trust at the centre.
If this sounds like a bunch of buzzwords strung together, you’re not wrong. Until we see the thing actually working in person, it’s impossible to separate the final product from the self-generated hype. From what we can deduce from the images, it is definitely a device without a display, although the large interface may contain some functions. Above that are what appear to be front-facing sensors, perhaps combined with additional sensors on top, directed toward the wearer’s face.
Humane is really pushing the “device standalone” narrative, which means some of the appeal here might be the ability to leave your smartphone at home — similar to what companies have pushed with LTE-enabled smartwatches.
Looks like we’ll have a better answer in a couple of months.