Humane is having a really hard time selling the AI Pin. According to The Verge, the AI Pin’s daily returns are currently higher than sales. As soon as the AI-focused hardware device went on sale in April, the returns started pouring in. Ever since the launch, the $699 AI Pin has met with mostly negative reviews, which eventually affected the sales.
The Humane AI Pin’s returns are so high that only around 7,000 units are out in the wild
The report suggests that the AI Pin’s daily returns are outpacing the struggling sales. The company has sold around 10,000 units of the device so far. Approximately, 3,000 AI Pins have been returned by the buyers. This means that only around 7,000 units of the Humane AI Pin are out in the wild at the moment.
Humane had once hoped to sell close to 100,000 AI Pins in the first year of the launch, which is far from actually happening. Out of the 3,000 unit returns, over 1,000 are pre-orders that were canceled by the buyers after seeing negative reviews. Notably, Marques Brownless called the AI Pin “the worst product” he’s ever reviewed.
The AI Pin and its accessories have brought in just over $9 million so far
Furthermore, the report suggests that the Humane AI Pin has brought in just over $9 million. This number is for the lifetime sales, including the accessories for the device. The sales figure is far lower in comparison to the $200 million Humane has raised from investors. Some of the AI Pin’s notable investors include OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff.
Humane has taken offense with The Verge and its report about the AI Pin’s sales. The company’s spokesperson Zoz Cuccias claims that there are “inaccuracies” regarding the financial data, but he didn’t go into specifics. When asked about the specifics of those inaccuracies, Cuccias said “we have nothing else to provide as we do not comment on financial data, and will refer it to our legal counsel”, mentions The Verge.
The returned units are now e-waste as there’s no way to refurbish them
It’s worth adding that the returned AI Pins are now basically e-waste. The company has no way to refurbish the device and sell it again to reclaim the lost revenue. The biggest issue is the limitation with the carrier partner T-Mobile, who doesn’t allow the returned AI Pins to be assigned to a secondary user.