Returns of Humane’s AI pin surge

AI start-up, Humane, released its AI Pin (a wearable device designed to replace smartphones) in April, but after a slew of scathing reviews, which rated it as “the worst product ever reviewed” is seeing more daily returns than daily sales.

According to leaked internal sales data, Humane has made $9M in sales since it launched the pin and its accessories, but around 1,000 purchases have been canceled before shipping, and over $1M worth of products have been returned since.

Why are people returning their AI Pins?

The AI Pin, designed to work as a “second brain” and perform all the tasks that a smartphone would, was slammed as “frustrating” and disorientating”, even before it launched, by a group of Alpha testers. But Humane chose to ignore their feedback and carried on with its launch. So it’s no surprise it got such damning reviews from the public resulting in a high number of returns and cancellations.

On top of this, they also launched a faulty charge case, which was prone to catching on fire, which they had to urgently recall.

What has been their response to the bad reviews and subsequent returns?

Unfortunately, due to connectivity restrictions from T-Mobile, Humane is unable to re-sell the returned pins as they currently can’t be reassigned to other users which means they’re e-waste and can do nothing to help Humane claw back and reclaim its lost revenue.

As it faces these issues and such public criticism, Humane is desperately trying to maintain confidence among its investors and potential acquirers (HP is rumored to be considering a purchase deal). They hope that they can negotiate with its current investors (which include OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman) to raise debt, which they can then convert to equity, later down the line.

But it might be too little too late: They managed to raise $200M from investors, by over-selling the product and its capabilities, but it’s looking increasingly unlikely that these investors will see a return on their investment, anytime soon.