Meet Imran Chaudhri, former Apple executive aiming to replace smartphones with tiny AI gadget

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Humane has unveiled its much-anticipated artificial intelligence-based gadget - Ai Pin. Humane is a San Francisco-based startup founded by former Apple executives Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno. Chaudhri was part of Apple for nearly 20 years and led the design of the iPhone's home screen, while Bongiorno was a software development lead for several of the company's products, including iPhone, iPad and Mac, Bloomberg reported.

The couple launched Humane in 2018 and also hired many other Apple employees, including Apple's senior director of engineering Patrick Gates. Humane is focused on developing the next wave of consumer devices, but the company is looking beyond mixed reality headsets, which are a big focus for industry veterans like Apple and Meta, reported Reuters. Humane president Imran Chaudhri said earlier this year that "the future is not your face".

The AI startup has raised $230 million in funding to date, with its latest Series C round of $100 million closing in March this year. Humane's high-profile investors include OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Microsoft and Tiger Global Management. In a statement about the Ai Pin, Chaudhry said, “Ai Pin is the embodiment of our vision to integrate AI into the fabric of daily life, enhancing our capabilities without overshadowing our humanity." "It is the first wearable device and software platform built to harness the full power of artificial intelligence (AI)".

Reuters quoted Chaudhry as saying. In his Ted Talk, Chaudhri while speaking about the AI Pin said, “This is so much more than devices just getting smaller or more powerful. This is the possibility of reimagining the human-technology relationship as we know it." Earlier this week, Sam Altman backed Humane launched its