Despite the layoffs being framed as part of a larger organizational refresh, there are concerns about the company's financial health and readiness for the product launch. Critics argue that the workforce reductions could impact the company's ability to handle potential challenges and customer support demands associated with the Ai Pin's release. The device's real-world performance is still unknown, with only a few current reviews available.
Key takeaways:
- Humane, the startup behind the wearable AI assistant Ai Pin, has laid off 10 employees, accounting for 4% of its workforce, ahead of the product's launch.
- The company was founded by former Apple executives and has received over $200 million in funding from prominent Silicon Valley investors, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
- The Ai Pin, priced at $699, is a versatile AI companion that responds to voice commands, projects information onto the user's hand, and uses AI-powered optical recognition via an integrated camera.
- Despite the company's claim that the layoffs were part of a larger organizational refresh, critics argue that such workforce reductions could impact the company's ability to deal with potential challenges and customer support demands associated with the release of Ai Pin.