The stuff is hard, to paraphrase a famous saying. First-generation products from new startups are notoriously like that, no matter how much money and enthusiasm you’ve managed to raise. Considering all of this, it’s likely that few will be too surprised that Humane is upcoming Hey Pin has been pushed back a little, from March to “mid-April,” per a new video by the Bay Area startup’s head of media, Sam Sheffer.
In his Sorkin-esque walk and talk, he explains that the first units are set to “start leaving the factory at the end of March.” If Humane sticks to that time frame, “priority access” customers will begin receiving the unit sometime in mid-April. The rest of the pre-orders, meanwhile, should arrive “shortly after.”
Humane captured a lot of tech buzz long before its first product was announced, thanks to its founders’ time at Apple and some suitably cryptic pre-launch videos. The Ai Pin was finally unveiled at an event in San Francisco in early November, where we were able to spend some hands-on time with the wearable.
The device is the first prime example of a growing trend in the world of consumer hardware, as more startups look to tap into the world of genetic artificial intelligence for new form factors. Humane is positioning its product as the next step for a space that has been stuck in the smartphone form factor for more than a decade.
Image Credits: Human
Of course, this will also almost certainly be the year of the “smart artificial” – that is, mobile phones that leverage the GPT platform models from companies like OpenAI, Google and Microsoft to bring new ways of interacting with consumer devices. Meanwhile, the new rabbit made a splash last month at CES for its own unique take on the consumer-first AI generator device.
For its part, Humane has a lot going for it this launch. The company has so far raised about $230 million, including last year’s $100 million Series C. There is a lot to be said for delaying a product until it is ready for the consumer. While early adopters are – to some extent – familiar with first generation bugs, there is always a limit to such patience. At the very least, a product like this should do most of the time what it’s supposed to do most of the time.
During CES, the company announced that it had laid off 10 employees, representing 10% of its total workforce. That’s not a huge number for a startup of this size, but it’s absolutely remarkable when it happens to a well-funded company at a time when it needs to project confidence to consumers and investors alike.
The Ai Pin is currently available for pre-order at $699. Those who do so before March 31 will get three months of the device’s $24/month subscription service for free.
