The results from Humane’s series C funding round were announced on Wednesday in the lead up to the reveal of its initial product offering.

Humane has secured a roster of significant strategic investors, new partnerships and collaborators ahead of its initial product offering, due to be revealed this spring.

Founded in 2018 by ex-Apple team Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, the company is creating a first-of-its-kind software platform and consumer device built from the ground up for artificial intelligence (AI). This raise will enable Humane to accelerate on its mission to deliver the next era of personal mobile computing, which will be one driven 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.

It also included participation from new strategic investors and partners including Hico Capital – the US based investment arm of SK networks – Microsoft, Volvo Cars Tech Fund, LG Technology Ventures, Top Tier Capital, Hudson Bay Capital, and Socium Ventures.

Co-Founder Imran Chaudhri comments: “Our first device will enable people to bring AI with them everywhere. It’s an exciting time, and we’ve been focused on how to build the platform and device that can fully harness the true power and potential of this technology. We are extremely proud to announce this industry leading line-up of partners and collaborators, and we are thrilled to work closely with them to bring Humane’s vision to market.”

Alongside investment, the company has secured strategic collaborations with some of the most influential technology companies in the world including:

• A partnership with Microsoft to bring its services platform to market, which will see Humane leverage the best cloud infrastructure in AI
• A collaboration with OpenAI, to integrate its technology into the Humane device and deliver OpenAI and Humane AI experiences at scale to consumers
• Future global expansion plans, including a collaboration with SK Networks, to build on the shared ethos of creating meaningful change in consumer technologies
  
  Patrick Gates, CTO of Humane, explains more. “We’ve been building for over four years now, going from a small group around a conference table to a world class team getting ready to ship a product and platform, along with some of the most influential technology and AI companies in the world,” he says. “Our products are built on an integrated device and cloud platform that will allow us, and others, to create AI-driven experiences that feel natural, fun, and needed.”
  
  While the initial device will be focused on delivering the next generation of personal technology, the company is exploring ways to bring its solutions into new personal domains in the future:

• A collaboration with LG will see the companies working closely on potential R&D projects for the next phase of Humane products, on the core technology included in future Humane devices and on integration into the home technology space
• Strategic investor Volvo Cars Tech Fund will work with Humane on a potential future collaboration which would be the first example of Humane’s offering being applied to the automotive industry. Like Humane, Volvo Cars develops technology to simplify life for its customers and the partnership is built on the shared values of safety, trust and privacy

Steve Jang, Founder and Managing Partner of Kindred, comments: “After serving in their past lives as an integral part of building the smartphone era of computing, this incredible team has been laser focused on enabling and amplifying human ideas, actions, moments, and modalities in a more creative and delightful way. As we enter into this next wave of AI, we’re so inspired by Humane’s mission to develop a device and services platform designed and built from ground up for this new world, and we welcome our existing and new co-investors and strategic partners to this transformational journey.”