When HP recently acquired Humane, the once high-profile startup known for its AI Pin device, many wondered what the computer company would do with the assets for which it paid $116 million. At the Amplify conference this week in Nashville, HP made it clear how it plans to leverage Humane’s AI technology and talent in the future. "It’s primarily the IP they have—much of their work involves AI models that run locally and in the cloud. However, I think the focus is centered on the people, their talent, and their deep knowledge of connectivity and AI. This week, we’ve had many conversations about driving new standards to drive seamless connectivity with devices, and that’s the knowledge base we’ve gained from much of the team. In addition to HP, we see them integrating into our vision, with our primary focus now on enabling AI experiences across our devices, along with the better strategy laid out at Amplify,” Tuan Tran, President of Technology and Innovation at HP said during a Q&A answer round with a select group of media. Tan’s statement confirms that HP, a company known for computers, printers, enterprise hardware, and services, was never interested in the hardware but always had an eye on CosmosOS- the AI-powered operating system that Humane built. CosmosOS is a framework for domain-specific AI agents, personal context awareness, and large language models (LLMs) connected through an AI bus. Simply put, it serves as an AI orchestration layer designed to integrate multiple AI agents and enable them to work together seamlessly. HP, one of the largest PC manufacturers in the world, has been betting on a new wave of personal computers with artificial intelligence features. However, the reality is that HP, like other major PC vendors, is heavily dependent on Microsoft for the Windows operating system and the Copilot Plus AI chatbot, which ships with all new AI PCs. This means HP must find a way to differentiate its hardware—and that’s where the strategy to integrate CosmosOS into its computers comes in. By doing so, HP can create AI-first devices rather than PCs that simply offer the standard Windows experience with built-in AI features. HP’s acquisition of Humane AI could also give the company an advantage over the competition, primarily because it owns brands like Poly (formerly Plantronics and Polycom), a leader in conference room hardware and headsets, as well as HyperX, a gaming accessory brand. By integrating CosmosOS into Poly’s devices and HyperX products, HP can create a seamless experience across its ecosystem, something Apple is already very good at. Humane first announced the AI Pin, which it pitched as a smartphone alternative, in late 2023. It was designed as a screen-free experience, allowing users to interact with artificial intelligence through voice commands, gestures, and projection. The company raised $230 million from prominent investors, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. However, despite the initial hype, the AI Pin was panned by critics. As part of the acquisition, Humane’s team—including founders and former Apple engineers Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno—has joined HP and will be part of a newly formed innovation lab at HP called HP IQ. At Amplify, HP CEO Enrique Lores mentioned a futuristic concept where smart devices in a room connect seamlessly, hinting at what HP is working on internally. "Imagine you are invited to a video conference room and bring your PC with you. Instead of manually opening the application and figuring out how to connect—like you do now—your PC automatically communicates with the room. You receive a small message on your screen asking, ‘Do you want to connect to the room?’" he said. "The PC then recognises that you are supposed to join a meeting at that moment, and seamlessly, all the necessary connections happen automatically. The PC and the conference room system can determine the best speakers and cameras to use. The room knows its configuration, including the number of speakers and cameras available. In many cases, it may be better to use the room’s speakers rather than the PC’s, or vice versa. All of this happens automatically, without the need for any manual adjustments," he continued. “Now imagine you are part of the same meeting, but connecting remotely. As you connect, you can tell the system, 'The person I really want to see reactions from is my boss. I want to see their facial expressions as I speak.' Automatically, the system adjusts so that instead of showing the overall room, it highlights the body language of the person you care about,” he explained. Lores further explained how the PC will provide real-time feedback about the engagement in the room, whether people are responding and understanding what you are saying, or if you need to adjust things like "Change your body language," "Speak louder," or "Speak slower." “These are the kinds of experiences that, by having a network of connected smart devices, we will be able to create,” he said, giving a glimpse of how, in the future, smart devices will connect with each other.
