[5] Humane was founded by Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno[6] in 2018; the couple previously worked at Apple Inc.[4] The startup emerged from stealth mode in 2021.

[7][8] By November 2023, the company had raised $230 million,[9] with notable investors such as Marc Benioff, Sam Altman, Tiger Global, SoftBank, Qualcomm, Microsoft, LG, Volvo, and Salesforce.

[13][21] The Ai Pin has received generally negative reviews, praising its product design but criticizing the limited battery life and how easily the device overheats in just a few minutes.

[22][23] The New York Times reported that due to overheating problems, Humane executives would use ice packs to chill the pin before previewing it to investors or partners.

[25][26] In response to the criticism, lead Ai Pin engineer Ken Kocienda said that he used the product "all the time" but did find it "frustrating sometimes" in the same way as a laptop or smartphone.