Hardware startup Humane, which has attracted much attention, recently announced its expansion plan for its first international market and strategic cooperation with SK Telecom, a top mobile operator in South Korea. This news has sparked widespread attention in the industry, especially after Humane postponed the delivery date of its popular product Ai Pin to the US market until mid-April.
Humane, an emerging company headquartered in San Francisco, has been attracting attention since its establishment in 2017 by former Apple executives Bethany Bongiorno and Imran Chaudhri. The company successfully attracted well-known investors such as Microsoft, Qualcomm Ventures, and OpenAI's Sam Altman, raising more than $200 million. After years of secret development, Humane officially launched its groundbreaking product, Ai Pin, in June last year.
Ai Pin is a wearable device that integrates sensors, generative AI intelligence, and a mini projector, allowing information to be projected onto any surface. The device is priced at $699 and requires a monthly subscription fee of $24 for unlimited data support and an AI-driven query service. As a result, Humane has become a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) and partnered with T-Mobile to launch in the US market.
However, despite the high expectations for Ai Pin, the product has not yet officially entered the consumer market. Previously, the company announced a round of layoffs, and Patrick Gates, who served as CTO for a long time, also left his position, raising doubts about Humane's prospects.
Now, with the launch plan for the South Korean market on the agenda and a partnership with the country's largest mobile provider SK Telecom, Humane seems to be turning the corner. This collaboration is not just a simple MVNO alliance but also a "strategic investment opportunity." Humane stated that it will license its proprietary AI-enabled operating system, CosmOS, to SK Telecom to support Ai Pin.
SK Telecom has been strengthening the development and promotion of its AI products. In 2022, the company launched a competitor to ChatGPT called A.Dot and plans to establish partnerships with partners around the world to become a "global AI company." Just yesterday, SK Telecom also announced a collaboration with AI search engine Perplexity to bring its advanced "Pro" plan to 32 million users.
Although it is not yet clear to what extent SK Telecom will rely on CosmOS, today's announcement states that the two companies will "collaborate on new subscription products and create new revenue opportunities for an application-less operating system and ecosystem" targeting the South Korean market.
As for when Ai Pin will enter the South Korean market, there is currently no exact information. However, considering the delayed delivery in the US market, we may not have high expectations for this. Nevertheless, with the close cooperation between Humane and SK Telecom, the future still holds unlimited possibilities.
