Artificial intelligence startup Humane has sought a buyer for its business, according to people familiar with the matter, just weeks after the company’s closely watched AI wearable had a challenging public launch.
The company is working with a financial adviser to help it, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is private.
Humane is seeking between $750 million (roughly Rs. 6,242 crore) and $1 billion (roughly Rs. 8,323 crore) in the sale, one of the people said. The process is still early and may not result in an agreement.
Humane representatives did not respond to requests for comment.
Humane was founded in 2018 by two longtime Apple veterans, married couple Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, in an attempt to come up with a new AI-powered device that could potentially compete with the iPhone. Last year, investors valued it at $850 million (roughly Rs. 7,074 crore), according to technology news site Information.
The company has so far raised $230 million (roughly Rs. 1,914 crore) from a list of prominent investors, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
The startup’s square-shaped magnetic wearable needle with laser radiation has attracted significant attention ahead of its launch. But the $699 (roughly Rs. 58,000) device has been criticized largely for its reliability and usability issues. The company said it is working to improve areas such as battery life, device overheating, accuracy and response time.
Humane’s potential sale comes at the same time as other competitors are expanding their AI hardware efforts, such as the Rabbit handheld device as well as Ray-Ban’s AI-powered Meta Platforms. But so far neither technology has become mainstream.
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