Humane, the startup behind the poorly-reviewed AI Pin wearable computer, is already hunting for a potential buyer for its business. That’s according to a report from Bloomberg, which says the company — led by former longtime Apple employees Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno — is “seeking a price of between $750 million and $1 billion.”

That might be a tough sell after the $699 AI Pin’s debut: the device has been widely panned for its slow responses and a user experience that falls well short of the always-on, wearable AI assistant concept that its founders promised in the run-up to the device’s release. The product was pitched at least partially as a way for people to be more present and reduce their ever-growing dependence on smartphones.

Humane developed its own operating system called CosmOS that runs on the AI Pin. It hooks into a network of AI models to fetch answers for voice queries and to analyze what the built-in camera is pointed at. For some interactions, the device beams out a laser “display” that is projected onto the wearer’s inner palm. A monthly subscription is required to keep the device active.

Humane was valued at $850 million by investors in 2023, but that was before its first-ever product was universally criticized by reviewers. There are some novel and clever ideas in there, but the AI Pin’s software is underbaked and too inconsistent, and the hardware has exhibited poor battery life and overheating issues. Humane has pledged to address some of those bugs with firmware updates. Just last week, it rolled out OpenAI’s GPT-4o model to further enhance the device’s smarts.

The list of potential buyers for Humane seems quite small considering the price that the startup is hoping to fetch. Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft are all making significant pushes into the AI realm — with large language models and generative AI becoming more prevalent by the day — but it’s unclear how much value Humane’s intellectual property would really bring to any of their ongoing efforts.

And, importantly, it’s got a AMD 8840U processor instead of a Intel Core Ultra chip.

See, the OneXPlayer X1 Mini is a smaller 8.8-inch version of the 10.95-inch OneXPlayer X1 put on sale earlier this year — and that one shipped with the same Intel Core Ultra chip that recently underwhelmed us in the MSI Claw. OneXPlayer has already dramatically cut the price of the larger Intel-powered handheld, and has just announced an AMD 8840U powered version of it as well.

But if I had to pick between 10.95-inch or 8.8-inch versions, sight unseen, with the same size 65Wh battery (yes they’re the same size) I’d probably choose portability. Unless the 8.8-inch keyboard is really cramped or something.

Chester Zoo in northern England is partnering with Mitsubishi Electric to implement more sustainable heating throughout its 128-acre grounds, with a key focus on enhancing the habitat of its critically endangered Eastern black rhinos.

The partnership, announced on Tuesday, May 21, aims to meet the specific heating requirements of the rhinos, while also contributing to the zoo’s broader sustainability targets.

“We have some very unique users in our buildings, with very, very specific environmental conditions,” Chester’s head of sustainability, Jennifer Kelly, told Reuters.

GORILLA AT CINCINNATI ZOO PLACED IN WORLD’S FIRST 3D-PRINTED TITANIUM CAST IS HEALING WELL

“Every building on our site has a different environmental condition that we need to create to have the best animal welfare standards and habitat conditions for the critically endangered species that we’re caring for.”

The Eastern black rhinos are the first to benefit from the new tech as they require a carefully controlled environment for their wellbeing. The rhinos’ habitat features large open doors for their free movement, but this design can lead to substantial heat loss. Mitsubishi Electric’s heat pump technology aims to counter this by providing a stable temperature range of 18 to 24 degrees, creating a comfortable environment for the rhinos while minimizing energy waste.

But have the rhinos noticed the change?

“Not at all. We haven’t had any feedback that they’ve noticed that their heating has changed at all. If anything, we can claim a real success in terms of maintaining that high heat demand that they have in that we had a calf earlier this year. So they seem very happy and settled with the air source pump system,” added Kelly.

This partnership with Mitsubishi forms part of Chester Zoo’s commitment to its goals to reduce fossil fuel use and promote sustainability.

The zoo hopes that the air source heat pumps demonstrate what’s possible and show that if heat pumps can work in rhino habitats, they can work in residential and wider settings too.

“Our zoo will be 100 years old in 2031, so we do have some quite historic building stock on site that we need to retrofit,” added Kelly.

“So far, we haven’t found an application where an air source heat pump wouldn’t work.”

Reflecting their name, heat pumps are mostly known for their warming abilities. Even on cold days they operate by efficiently pulling in what heat exists outside from the air or the ground and using that to heat a special refrigerant liquid into gas. When that’s compressed, it warms up more. Pumping what results round the building raises the temperature to a comfortable level.

Chester Zoo, open since 1931, is home to over 37,000 animals across 500 species and is recognized globally for its conservation efforts.