Humane Inc. today announced that it has raised $100 million in Series C funding and secured a list of significant strategic investors, new partnerships and collaborators before the presentation of its initial product offering this spring.
Humane, founded in 2018 by Apple alumni Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno , is creating a first-of-its-kind software platform and consumer device designed from the ground up for artificial intelligence (AI). This fundraising will allow Humane to accelerate its mission to deliver the next face of personal mobile computing, which will be powered by AI.
The round was led by Kindred Ventures with participation from existing investors Tiger Global, Valia Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, Forerunner Ventures, Lachy Groom and Sam Altman, founder of OpenAI.
The round also included participation from new investors and strategic partners, including Hico Capital (US investment arm of SK Networks), Microsoft, Volvo Cars Tech Fund, LG Technology Ventures, Top Tier Capital, Hudson Bay Capital and Socium Ventures.
In addition to these investments, Humane has secured strategic collaborations with some of the most influential technology companies in the world:
- Humane has partnered with Microsoft to commercialize its service platform. This will allow Humane to take advantage of the best cloud infrastructure in the field of artificial intelligence.
- A collaboration with OpenAI will enable it to integrate its technology into the Humane device and deliver OpenAI and Humane AI experiences at scale to consumers
- Humane’s future global expansion plans include working with SK Networks (which covers Korea’s ICT device distribution business and has an extensive global network) to build on strong shared values: creating significant changes in consumer technologies
While the initial Humane device will be focused on delivering the next generation of personal technology, the company is exploring how to bring its solutions into new personal areas in the future:
- A collaboration with LG will allow the companies to work closely together on potential R&D projects for the next phase of Humane products, the core of their technology embedded in future Humane devices, and the integration into the technology space of the House
- Strategic investor Volvo Cars Tech Fund will work with Humane on a possible future collaboration that would be the first example of Humane’s offering applied to the automotive sector. Like Humane, Volvo Cars develops technology to make life easier for its customers, and their partnership is built on shared values of safety, trust and privacy.
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Imran Chaudhri, co-founder of Humane, said:“Our first device will allow people to take AI everywhere with them. It’s an exciting time, and we’ve been focused on how to build the platform and the device that can fully harness the true power and potential of this technology.
We are extremely proud to announce this list of top partners and collaborators, and we are excited to work closely with them to make Humane’s vision a reality. We are at the start of the next era of computing, and we believe that together we can begin to fundamentally reshape the role of technology in people’s lives.
Steve Jang, Founder and Managing Partner of Kindred, commented:
“We are absolutely thrilled to continue being part of Humane’s journey from their initial idea of creating a more fluid, powerful and contextual computing experience to leverage and scale AI. Having previously cared about building the smartphone era, this incredible team focused on how to activate and amplify human ideas, actions, moments and modalities in a more creative and enjoyable way. . As we enter this next wave of AI, we are so inspired by Humane’s mission to develop a platform of devices and services designed and built from the ground up for this new world, and we look forward to the participation of our existing and new co-investors and strategic partners in this transformational journey.
Patrick Gates, CTO of Humane, explained,“In just over four years, we’ve grown from a small group around a conference table to a global team poised to launch a product and platform. , with the support of some of the most influential technology and artificial intelligence companies in the world. Our products are built on a cloud-based platform of integrated devices that will allow us and others to create AI-driven experiences that feel natural, fun, and necessary.
