As a part of broader cost-cutting strategy, Humane has laid off four per cent of its employees, according to sources familiar with the matter. Additionally, by leadership, employees were recently told that budgets would be lowered this year.
The cuts were made ahead of the five-year-old startup shipping its first device: a $699, screen-less, AI-powered pin that is pitched as a smartphone replacement. After a lot of hype and secrecy, the AI Pin was unveiled to the world in November, and pre-orders were accepted, with shipments planned to begin in March.
The company calls this restructuring a part of its wider rehaul of the organisational structure as it evolves for the next phase of growth. The company informed all the affected employees both verbally and in writing.
Along with the restructuring, the company also announced the departure Patrick Gates, its founding CTO, who will be transitioning to an advisor role in order to spend more time with his family. The company has promoted new heads of hardware, software, and people as part of the reorganisation.
Founded in 2019 by CEO Bethany Bongiorno and Imran Chaudhri, Humane is a Silicon Valley startup that has secured over $200 million in funding, including from Sam altman, CEO, OpenAI. Bongiorno, now serving as Humane’s CEO, brings her background in Apple’s software engineering. Chaudhri, the chairman and president at Humane, previously held the role of director of design on Apple’s human interface team. Patrick Gates, the chief technology officer at Humane, held a senior director of engineering position at Apple before joining the company.
