Hyped AI startup Humane has announced plans to enter its first international market by signing a deal with South Korean carrier SK Telecom.
The announcement comes shortly after the San Francisco-based company revealed that it would be delaying the shipment date of Ai Pin devices in the U.S. domestic market from March to mid-April.
Founded in 2017 by former Apple executives Bethany Bongiorno and Imran Chaudhri, Humane was founded by Microsoft, Qualcomm Ventures and OpenAI's Sam before anyone outside knew what the company was building. It had raised more than $200 million from backers including Altman. The company finally revealed everything last June, and has revealed more details about the device in the months leading up to it.
In a nutshell, Humane has developed 'Ai Pin', a wearable device with an all-new form factor equipped with sensors, generative AI smarts, and a mini projector that beams information onto any surface.
Ai Pin costs $699 upfront, with a $24 monthly subscription fee. This allows users to get a phone number and unlimited data to perform as many AI-powered queries as they want. This positions Humane as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), with T-Mobile serving as its launch partner in the US market.
humane action image credits:humane
delay
But while Humane has given the world a glimpse of the Ai Pin, nothing has left the factory for the consumer market yet. And the company announced a series of layoffs in January, with longtime CTO Patrick Gates also leaving his position. It would be easy to think that something is not working at your company.
However, it is planned to launch in South Korea in partnership with the country's largest mobile provider, which bodes well for Humane to ramp up production in the coming months. This partnership is also more than just an MVNO partnership. Humane says this is part of a “strategic investment opportunity” for SK Telecom to license Humane's CosmOS. A unique AI-enabled operating system that powers the Ai pins.
SK Telecom's A.Dot platform image credits: SK Telecom
In fact, SK Telecom has recently strengthened its AI products, launching a ChatGPT competitor called A.Dot in 2022 and establishing partnerships with various companies at the end of last year, calling it “Global AI”. He revealed his ambition to become a company. players all over the world. And just yesterday, SK Telecom announced a partnership with AI search engine Perplexity to offer a premium 'Pro' plan to SK Telecom's 32 million subscribers.
It is not entirely clear how much SK Telecom will rely on CosmOS, but in today's announcement, the companies said:We will work together to offer new subscriptions and create new revenue opportunities for the appless OS and ecosystem for the Korean market. ”
It's also not yet clear when the Ai Pin will be released in South Korea, but given the current delay in its release in the US, we might not expect it to be released too soon. yeah.