HP Acquires Humane’s AI Talent for $116 Million as Robotics Start-Up Figure Launches Versatile Helix Model

HP has acquired the AI startup Humane for $116 million, integrating its talent into software development roles with substantial pay raises. Meanwhile, robotics company Figure introduced “Helix,” a Vision-Language-Action system enabling humanoid robots to perform diverse household tasks via voice commands. In the media space, Spotify partnered with ElevenLabs to expand AI-generated audiobooks in 29 languages, providing a cost-effective alternative for authors. These advancements highlight AI’s growing influence across industries, from tech acquisitions to robotic assistance and digital media. Stay updated as AI continues to reshape the future.

Table of Contents

• Key Highlights
• HP Snaps Up Humane’s AI Talent
• Figure Reveals Breakthrough House Robot
• AI Voices Taking Over Spotify?
• Conclusion

Key Highlights

HP Snaps Up Humane’s AI Talent

This week, HP purchased the struggling AI Pin maker, Humane, for $116 million. This is considerably less than the expected valuation of $1 billion.

• Following the acquisition, HP has started to employ several Humane employees in software development roles, with some receiving pay raises of up to 70%.
• It seems that HP is focusing on enhancing their current AI capabilities rather than starting from scratch.

Figure Reveals Breakthrough House Robot

Robotics start-up Figure has unveiled its “Helix” model, a general-purpose Vision-Language-Action system that allows humanoid robots to manage various household tasks based on simple voice commands.

• Unlike previous robots limited to specific chores, Helix can adapt to multiple scenarios.
• For instance, a user can instruct the robot to retrieve a snack from anywhere in the house, and it can identify the correct item even among various shapes and colors.
• This advancement is a significant step forward for home robotics.

AI Voices Taking Over Spotify?

The audio streaming service Spotify has teamed up with ElevenLabs, an AI voice generator start-up, to introduce more AI-generated audiobooks.

• Authors can now publish their works in audio format using digital voices, which are available in over 29 languages.
• While Spotify acknowledges the importance of human narration, this partnership aims to provide authors with a cost-effective solution and help revive older titles that might go unnoticed.

Conclusion

And there you have it! Those were our key highlights in today’s AI news.

• Make sure to stay informed and encourage others to join us as we keep track of these exciting developments in Artificial Intelligence.

Until next time, be curious and keep exploring!