AI hardware startup Humane, once a rising star in Silicon Valley, has been partially acquired by HP for US$116 million. The deal, announced on Tuesday, marks a significant drop from the US$240 million Humane had previously raised in venture capital funding. While the acquisition presents a new opportunity for some employees, others have found themselves without a job overnight.
Mixed fortunes for Humane employees
Following the acquisition announcement, Humane’s roughly 200 employees faced a whirlwind of changes. Internal documents and sources familiar with the matter revealed that while some employees received lucrative job offers from HP, others were laid off with little warning.
HP extended offers to several Humane employees, with salary increases ranging between 30% and 70%. These offers also included HP stock options and bonus packages. Many of the employees who received offers were involved in developing Humane’s core software, indicating HP’s keen interest in AI-focused engineering talent. However, not all software team members were included in the transition.
Meanwhile, other employees—particularly those working on AI Pin devices in quality assurance, automation, and operations—were notified that they had lost their jobs. The layoffs occurred on Tuesday evening, leaving many workers without immediate employment.
The job offers from HP reflect the intense demand for skilled AI engineers in Silicon Valley. While Humane’s team did not train foundational AI models like those at OpenAI or Google, their expertise in AI-powered systems made them highly valuable. Even established tech companies like HP struggle to attract and retain top AI talent, making Humane’s engineers a strategic acquisition.
HP and Humane have also confirmed that the newly formed HP innovation lab, HP IQ, will be home to Humane’s co-founders, Imran Chaudhri and CEO Bethany Bongiorno. The lab will also oversee the AI operating system CosmOS as HP seeks to integrate artificial intelligence into its personal computers, printers, and conference room technology.
Some users mocked the transition on social media, joking about employees leaving an ambitious AI startup to work on AI-enhanced HP printers. However, sources indicated that many employees were pleased with HP’s stability and increased salaries.
The Humane founders having to go work on AI for OfficeJet™ Printers at HP is the ultimate Sisyphean punishment for the prototypical Steve Jobs larper-founder. I cannot imagine anything more cruel
— Gonzalo Nuñez (@gonzalo__nunez) February 18, 2025
Sudden layoffs and impromptu meetings
While Humane employees were not entirely unaware of the company’s financial struggles, the sudden announcement caught many by surprise. In June, The New York Times reported that Humane sought to sell itself to HP for over US$1 billion, but the final acquisition price was significantly lower.
Some employees had been advised to expect major news by late January. However, the official announcement only arrived in the second half of February. When it did, employees had little notice that an agreement had been reached or that Humane’s AI Pin business would be shut down.
At around midday Pacific Time on Tuesday, Humane’s chief of staff, Andie Adragna, sent out a last-minute Google Meet invitation for a company-wide meeting set to take place just hours later. The meeting, held at the company’s San Francisco headquarters and live-streamed for remote staff, was where Bongiorno officially announced the acquisition—just moments before HP and Humane made their press release public.
Later that day, another all-hands meeting provided more clarity: some employees would receive job offers at HP IQ, while others would not. Soon after, multiple employees received emails informing them that they were being laid off and that their access to company systems had been revoked.
Exactly how many employees lost their jobs due to the acquisition remains unclear. HP and Humane have not responded to requests for comment.
Humane’s troubled history
Humane had been facing challenges long before the acquisition. The company’s AI Pin struggled from the start, receiving poor reviews from early users. These setbacks affected employee morale and customer confidence. To make matters worse, the AI Pin’s charging case was briefly flagged as a fire hazard, adding to the product’s troubles.
In July, Humane’s head of product engineering left the company to start his venture, taking several key executives with him. Following this, the situation worsened. At one point, returns for the AI Pin surpassed new sales, pushing Humane to cut the device’s price from US$699 to US$499 to boost demand.
After HP confirmed the acquisition, Humane contacted customers to provide further updates on what would happen next. For now, the AI Pin project is being wound down, marking the end of Humane’s ambitious attempt to break into the AI hardware market.
