Humane, the tail end of the clueless startup era?
Let me sell you something.
It's a small smartphone with no screen that can talk back to you, record sound, and clip to your lap. Also, it costs $699 with a monthly $24 subscription.
Are you excited yet?
No? Still hesitant? In that case, let me convince you further: the device is a self-declared groundbreaking device; it's built from the ground up for AI; the battery will last long enough for your day; it's not always listening to you; it runs with a snapdragon processor; has a nice loudspeaker; your data should be secure; it will ping you when you get a message... but most importantly, there are no apps but (wait for it) experiences.
All the above is pretty much the entire pitch from Humane.
I can't even link to their video presentation as it's not easily doable. The best thing I can do is this very recent Bloomberg interview of the co-founder. The keyword you're looking for is mumbo-jumbo.
Does it sound like a disaster in the making?
You bet it does. This is just another Juicero, only with fancier people and fancier tech.
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Having your future market look at what you explain and going "Hu?" is a non-starter. Whether you are an ex-rockstar designer from Apple backed with dozens of millions or a regular Joe startup, solving a clear and essential problem for your market is your only job.
The only upside?
Humane might be the last notorious startup of an era when running to the market with millions in your pocket and being absolutely clueless about the problem they are solving. If only because interest rates are up, VCs no longer have as much money. After ten years of clueless startups, the imperative of building proper business models is finally back.
