Humane is reportedly trying to sell itself to HP for $1 billion

With Humane rumored to be seeking a potential buyer for its Pin AI business, a fresh report suggests HP could be a contender. According to New York TimesHumane began talking to HP about a $1 billion-plus sale about a week after reviews surfaced that widely covered its $699 AI portable computer.

This number is also a reflection similar report from Bloomberg last month that Humane “expects a price tag of $750 million to $1 billion.” This is also not out of the question for HP, which has already acquired Palm hardware and its webOS operating system $1.2 billion in 2010. The following year, HP halted all Palm-related production and support, citing indigent sales. LG now has webOS.

Humane, led by former Apple employees Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, did not respond well to criticism about its product because criticized the negative reviews for lack of optimism. AI Pin was widely criticized for failing to meet stated expectations, and the company later sent emails to customers warning that the device’s charging case “may pose a fire safety risk.” The AI ​​Pin laser display would also cause the device to overheat Times report that Humane executives previously had to nippy it with ice packs to make it last longer.

The company reportedly fired a senior software engineer in February for questioning whether the pin was ready for launch Times claims it violates a policy prohibiting employees from speaking negatively about Humane. Former and current employees told the publication that Chaudhri and Bongiorno disregarded warnings about AI Pin’s indigent battery life and power consumption, choosing “positivity over criticism.”

The Times reports that as of early April, Humane had received about 10,000 orders for the AI ​​Pin, well below the 100,000 units it planned to sell this year. “You don’t know everything before you start,” Bongiorno said in an interview with Timesand Chaudhri added that “I definitely wish we could have addressed some of these issues a little differently” in the wake of AI Pin’s indigent reviews.